Empty Rooms in Bethlehem's Inns

 

                                Bethlehem Christmas Tree Lighting 2020

1 O little town of  Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by;

yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light;

the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

My late mother was a travel agent for many years and took groups of people on trips around the world. Often she was away at Christmas with folk who wanted to be in Bethlehem on Christmas Day. She said it was wonderful to go out into the countryside on Christmas Eve to sing carols. They would be in Manger Square outside the Church of the Nativity on Christmas morning with tourists from around the world. Although I have been to Israel several times, none of this appealed to me -- well, the Shepherds' Fields might have been a meaningful experience -- but my mother and thousands of others loved it. 

This year there will be virtually no seasonal visitors in Bethlehem, because of the pandemic and the resulting restrictions in Israel and the West Bank.  The events of 2020 have had a devastating impact on the tourism sector, a major source of income for the country. 

Bethlehem is largely an Arab Christian town, one of the few enclaves of Christians left in Israel. The Christian population in Israel has been shrinking steadily and I recall listening to the principal of a Christian school in Bethlehem who appealed to a group I was leading many years ago to remember brothers and sisters in Christ. He felt that the Israeli government discriminated against Arab Christians even though they were a peaceful segment of society. 

The Christmas tree lighting last week was attended by just a few officials and the same will be the case for Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. 

In the midst of our own "hopes and fears" about gathering for Christmas we can remember the Christians of Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born.