Category Archives: Religion

Arts, Christianity, Photography, Religion

Christmas 2013: Manger Square, Bethlehem…

BETHLEHEM

Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem (Photo Credit: AP)

Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem (Photo Credit: AP)

Large crowds gathered in the biblical town of Bethlehem for Christmas Eve celebrations.

The nearby Church of the Nativity sits on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born.

Meanwhile, in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Pope Francis celebrated his first Christmas Eve Mass since becoming pontiff.

He earlier made a visit to Pope Emeritus Benedict, 86, and said he found his predecessor looking well.

The number of visitors to Bethlehem has been steadily rising in recent years as peace talks to resolve the Middle East conflict have resumed.

Despite the erection of Israel’s separation barrier with the West Bank – which appears as a high concrete wall around the town – three gates have been opened for Christmas to allow the Christmas procession led by the Latin Patriarch coming from Jerusalem to enter the city.

Latin Patriarch Archbishop Fouad Twal – the most senior Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land – as he arrived in town, said:

…The message of Christmas is a message of peace, love and brotherhood. We have to be brothers with each other.

His motorcade crawled through Bethlehem’s narrow streets as he stopped to greet visitors.

It took Archbishop Twal nearly 90 minutes to make the short trip to the Church of the Nativity, where thousands of people were gathered ahead of Midnight Mass.

In Vatican City, a life-sized nativity scene was unveiled in the centre of St Peter’s Square.

Thousands of worshippers from across Italy and around the world queued on a cold clear night before entering St Peter’s.

As soaring music filled the air, Pope Francis made his entrance and moved slowly up the central aisle, followed by a retinue of clerics.

In a short homily, Francis said that every Christian can choose between darkness and light, between love and hate:

…If we love God and our brothers and sisters, we walk in the light; but if our heart is closed, if we are dominated by pride, deceit, self-seeking, then darkness falls within us and around us.

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Arts, Christianity, Culture, Religion

Understanding the meaning of Christmas from Ecclesiastes…

TRINKETS ARE TRIVIAL

EXPERTS are predicting that so many people have ‘everything’ that Christmas presents will become ‘experiences’ – tickets for such things as hang gliding or bungee jumping. Most of us in the West have many possessions and few can detach themselves completely from them. House, car, furnishings, sentimental objects and clothes define who we are, and we hate to lose them.

But when life is laid bare on the autopsy table, these things look trivial. Who we were, the influence we exerted, the people we helped (or hurt) are what will be remembered and missed. They will be a more powerful memorial than instructions in our will or any words on our tombstone.

Ecclesiastes invites us to step back and look at our own silliness. We never think we have enough (1:8) and we keep on re-inventing the wheel (1:9). Knowledge is no good stored in our head and never used (1:16, 17). Pleasure is an emotion that goes out like a light the moment its energy source is cut off (2:10, 11). And we work our socks off for others to get the benefit (2:17-19).

The author does, though, pose a hard question: why on earth do we live like this? Why do we waste so much time and energy on trivial things and spend so little on lasting things like relationships with others and with God? Perhaps we all suffer from practical agnosticism, despite our protestations of faith. Wisdom starts when we look deep into ourselves and reflect on our own mortality.

Ecclesiastes has a particularly poignant message for Christmas, despite it being a book from within the Old Testament. It looks at life by clearly instructing us to be content with what we have; it also suggests that life is meaningless without the spiritual dimension, and teaches the need to keep everything in proper perspective. The message couldn’t be clearer for today.

Part of our calling on earth is to appreciate and enjoy what the Creator has given us. All good things are to be received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:3).

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