“Welcome home” – these are the words with which our tour guide, Alex, greeted us with when we arrived in the Holy Land. “Israel is a home for all Christians,” he said, “We belong here.”
As Americans we tend to think of Israel as the land of the Jewish people, and Muslims, too; which indeed it is. Only 2% of the population is Christian, but their presence is absolutely undeniable, and it is taken very seriously. This is true in Bethlehem, where most Christians live, but also in Magdala, Capernaum, Tabgha, Cana, Jericho, Jerusalem, Jaffa and Tel Aviv. In all of these places there were large Christmas trees and Santa’s all around, and signs wishing Christians a Merry Christmas (not “Happy Holidays”). Of course, one of the reasons for this is that the locals recognize the impact Christian pilgrims have on the economy. But nevertheless, it was an unexpected pleasure to see people of ALL faiths taking selfie’s in front of Christmas trees and nativity scenes on public display. There was even a group of Muslims (one particular faction) that waited in line in front of us for two hours to go into the tomb of Jesus!
As we begin this new year, let us pray that our parish can be a place of welcome and belonging, as the Holy Land is, and that we will be a people who respect one another’s differences while we grow in faith together, living our Baptismal call, united in our love of Jesus.
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