"O Little town of Bethlehem..."
As I write it's a few days after the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. Those of us who were alive as adults then may still remember the joy and delight this wonderful event was greeted with. This was a peaceful revolution. It heralded the end of the “Cold War”, the smashing of the Iron Curtain and the re-unification of Germany. The Wall had divided the city and completely encircled the whole of West Berlin. In the 28 years it stood some 200 people died at the Wall. Families were separated, living their lives and growing old without being able to meet. The Wall symbolised the oppressive injustices of undemocratic regimes and the division of all Europe into separate parts with no freedom of movement for people between them.
The anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall reminded me that today, tragically, there is another wall of division in the world - the 400 mile long wall between Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. The modern-day borough of Bethlehem has been divided by the Wall with huge impact on its economy,business and employment levels, and its water supplies. Like the Berlin Wall before it this West Bank Wall represents a situation of oppression and injustice. Ordinary people trying to live in peace and freedom find their lives blighted. They are cut off, not only from their immediate needs for work,vital goods and services like healthcare, but also from the hope of an opportunity for a fulfilling life and future.
The baby whose birth in Bethlehem 2000 years ago we celebrate this month was announced by angels as a bringer of peace on earth and good will among all people. As I sing “O little town of Bethlehem” again this Christmas I will pray for modern-day Bethlehem, where there is as yet no peace and good will for its people. One day I hope that Wall too will fall.
Human societies erect walls of separation when unity and trust break down between groups. Sometimes these are not always obvious physical barriers. There are walls of indifference and lack of care for others. There is no wall between different streets and towns in any English cities as far as I know; but there are huge barriers between people of different backgrounds and cultures – barriers of lack of interest or care about the lives of others.
The joy and hope of the message we celebrate at Christmas is that these barriers can be broken down. This might seem an impossible dream when we look at the reality of the world around us. The Christian vision and hope is that the barrier between divine possibility and human limitation has been abolished; in the life of that baby from Bethlehem whose Spirit and Life we may share.
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us... full of grace and truth”.(John 1: 14).
A joyful Christmas and Happy New Year to you
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