Bethlehem Lutheran Church

You are not here to teach, you are here to learn from us and be with us." These were the harsh and blunt words spoken to me by my internship supervisor, the Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, a Palestinian Christian, at Christmas Lutheran Church in Bethlehem. Part of my seminary internship was spent in Jerusalem in an English-speaking congregation and the other part of my time was spent in Bethlehem in the Lutheran church there and with an interfaith group that organized joint peace conferences, published journals and statements denouncing violence. There were plenty of things for me to do in the English-speaking congregation and in the interfaith group, but on the days I was scheduled to be at Christmas Lutheran Church, I would end up sitting around and talking with visitors and staff all day. I would hear the stories about relatives of church members who had tried to go to the hospital, but had been turned back because they didn't have the proper identification. I would hear about how the electricity and water had been turned off again and there were concerns about when it would be turned on again. I would hear about the fear of one family whose land full of olive trees was in danger of being confiscated yet again. I would hear about the overwhelming unemployment of members of the church and the fears that all the youth would leave because there were no opportunities for a future where their gifts would be used or noticed.

While I enjoyed these visits very much, I would think to myself, I wonder if I need to be doing something. After all, I spent an hour getting here today because I had to walk to the taxi station, take the taxi to the check point, walk across to the other side of the check point and then take another taxi or walk another 20 minutes. I am sure there is some part of my internship covenant that I should be working on, I would think. It would really be good if I could put some of those seminary skills I learned to work here.....You get my point, I was feeling guilty for not being more productive.

When I finally heard and soaked in what Pastor Raheb had said to me that day, I began to look at people and my role as a partner in mission very differently. That Christmas while I was struggling to find my role in Bethlehem, I heard the Christmas texts and heard "Immanuel-God with us"-in a whole new way. I heard the phrase that God came to "live among us" with new ears. The amazing, good news is that God came to be with and among us in the person of Jesus......God came to BE WITH. We, too, are called to be with and dwell with one another. That is one of the most significant ways to be in mission-being with-walking alongside, walking and talking with someone, experiencing the difficulties of another's life. This may seem like a simple epiphany and revelation, but for someone who evaluates her day by how many things get checked off of the "to do" list, this was a significant learning moment. It is enough simply to BE and to BE WITH. May the God who is with us, pull us away from our task lists and our busy-ness during this Advent and Christmas season, so that we might truly be with and be present with one another.

And the Word became flesh and lived among us. John 1:14

They will call him Immanuel-which means, "God with us."
Matthew 1:23

God's Peace, Pastor Beth