Plus - Christmas feature

Christmas in the land of Jesus

By Lenard R. Mahaarachchi

Last year I was in Bethlehem…

Yes, I had the privilege of following midnight mass on Christmas Eve last year in the Church of the Nativity where Jesus was born two millennia ago. Our group of 25 pilgrims, men, women and children had left Colombo on the night of December 21 on a trip organised by Jetwing Travels Ltd. We reached Amman in Jordan via Sharjah at sundown the following day. The next morning we left our Shepherd hotel in Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity, built on the birthplace of Jesus. We were shown the Milk Grotto and St. Jerome’s caves and a few other places of interest.
The sycamore tree that Zacheus climbed to see Jesus

On the noon of Christmas Eve, we watched the annual procession that heralds Christmas in the land of Jesus’s birth. The Manger square outside the Basilica had a festive atmosphere awaiting the arrival of the Bishop of Jerusalem who was officially entering the area to commence the festivities. There was a colourful procession in which the patriarchs of different sects arrived from Jerusalem accompanied by dignitaries, boy scouts playing bagpipes, mounted policemen and a police band.

At sundown on Christmas Eve, we had holy mass in the Shepherds Field church where on the first Christmas night angels sang Gloria to the shepherds watching their flocks. Here Rev. Fr. David Bingham who was accompanying us said mass which I served.

This festive atmosphere continued till evening once the procession entered the cathedral premises. Choirs from all over the world sing in Manger Square and giant TV screens telecast the night service to the city and countries across the world. Religious dignitaries from the entire Christian world belonging to manifold denominations made the scenario one that still lingers in the memory of the viewers.

Christmas 2008 dawned at midnight in the Church of Nativity where Jesus was laid in the manger on the first Christmas night. Our group had the chance of a lifetime, to attend service in the church of St. Catherine (Nativity church) along with the President of Israel, diplomats and distinguished invitees. It was a rare chance to seek entry into this holy place, which became possible thanks to us having to hand over a letter from former Archbishop of Colombo Oswald Gomis to the Bishop of Jerusalem. We were given permission to enter the church which is taboo to outsiders, when we told the security officers that we had a letter from our Archbishop to his counterpart in Jerusalem. (Mrs. Rose Fernando, Secretary to the Minister of Religious Affairs who was in our group had been asked by Bishop Gomis to hand deliver that letter.)

While attending that Christmas service was a special privilege, there were other memorable moments in our visit to the Holy Land. Earlier we had been to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Then we visited the Ascension church and saw the spot from where Jesus ascended into heaven after His resurrection. A visit to the Pater Noster church gave us a magnificent panoramic view of the Holy City from the Mount of Olives. Here the Lord’s Prayer is displayed in many languages including Sinhala. We also saw the chapel of Dominus Flevit where Jesus wept over the city and then visited the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of All Nations, the Tomb of Mary where tradition says Mary fell into her eternal sleep, the place where St. Stephen the first martyr was stoned to death, the church of St. Anne, where Mary was born and the nearby pool of Bethesda. Next we visited the Via Dolorosa, and the chapel of Flagellation in the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in the Calvary area.
The Lord’s Prayer in Sinhala (left) at the Pater Noster Church

We also saw the Tomb of Jesus and reverently kissed the stone before leaving to Mount Zion and the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu where Peter denied Jesus, David’s tomb, and the church of Dormition. After a boat ride in the Sea of Galilee where we reflected on the story of Jesus calming the tempest, we left to the region of Jericho. We viewed the Mount of Temptation, visited the sycamore tree that Zacheus, small in stature climbed when he wanted to see Jesus.

Then we went to the Dead Sea, the saltiest sea on earth. We floated in the sea where you don’t sink. Passing the Inn of the Good Samaritan we joyfully stepped into the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized and visited Mount Tabor where Jesus was transfigured to the amazement of the three disciples.

On the following day we visited the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached the famous words known as the Sermon on the Mount, the Tabgha and its church of the Multiplication of Loaves, the church of St. Peter’s Primacy, Capernaum, the house of St. Peter and an old synagogue.

That evening was a visit to Cana where the Jesus performed His first miracle. Here we had mass and couples renewed their marriage vows. We also visited the Jordan valley and Mount Nebo where Moses died gazing upon the Promised Land which he never reached.

All too soon it was time to return. Yet the memories are fresh of this special pilgrimage - a dream come true at Christmas.

 
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