Merry Christmas from Israel!

Glory to God in the highest! 
Christmas greetings from Israel 

Sunday, the 19th of January, 2014, was the Armenian Christmas. So merry Christmas! The ancient Armenian Church's Primarchate of Jerusalem made a visit to the Basilica and Grotto of the Nativity in Manger Square in Bethlehem. He was leading the service of celebration of the birth of Jesus when we seventeen Church of Scotland ministers and their spouses entered the basilica to visit the grotto. We waited in line for over an hour as the Primarchate led the chanting of the Christmas service in a nearby chapel in the Basilica. Outside the basilica was a tall and well decorated Christmas tree. People were eager, even aggressive, to visit the shrine that marks the birthplace of the Christ child. People were pushy to get downstairs to enter the grotto. I have been told that there are many times that people wait two or three hours in line. I went ahead with it even though I don't really give much attention to finding the actual sites where important events took place.

Then we visited one of the four Shepherds' Fields that commemorate where an angel announced to the shepherds that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Nobody knows on what field the angel choirs actually sang gloria in excelsis deo, but it is important to remember that this wonderful story is an important part of the Christmas Story. The next day, Monday, we went to the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. It remembers where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Jesus the Messiah, saviour of the world. The Incarnation (God took appeared in human form) took place in Nazareth; Jesus' Nativity (the birth of Jesus) took place in Bethlehem. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is truly human and truly divine.  It is essential to biblical faith and gives us life.

Perhaps the climax of the Israel trip for me was having communion at the Shepherds' Field on Armenian Christmas. That day the Incarnation was coupled with Atonement. Behind the Manger of Jesus is the life-giving Cross of Christ.  Jesus was born not only to live His life in complete and total obedience to God the Father, but also to die. On the Cross Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. His death is atonement for the sins of those who put their trust in what God has done through the atoning work of Jesus His Son. There would have been no atonement if there had not been the Incarnation. It was the third Christmas that the Church of the Nativity had observed, yet we were none the less remembering the Incarnation. By following the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem on the previous Thursday, we remembered the beautiful story of Jesus' last week and His death on the Cross. By means of Communion on Armenian Christmas Day, we not only remembered the Incarnation and Jesus' birth, but we looked to His atoning death on our behalf.

And since it was Sunday, we remembered Jesus' resurrection from death to life. It was a biblically and theologically rich day. The Incarnation, the Nativity of Jesus, the Cross of Christ, and the Resurrection, these were the great acts that God has done for us and our salvation. We are saved by what God has done through Jesus the Messiah; it has nothing to do with how good we are or anything we have done. It is all God's grace and mercy through Jesus Christ. And the minister serving us Communion reminded us of Jesus' promise to come again and finish His work of redemption on our behalf. My you be eternally blessed by trusting in what God has done through Jesus Christ on our behalf and for our salvation.
   
Blessings to you and yours,