Just back from the Christmas Eve carol service at church - a key part of my Christmas, and apart from the fact that I was one daughter missing, it was as special a time as ever.
But the carol 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' is always a hard one to sing. When you consider what life is like now for the people of Bethlehem, what has happened to that town as a result of fear and hatred replacing love and light in that region - it's hardly a town where people have dreamless sleeps, or a peace-filled town.
Martin John Nicholls is a talented singer / song-writer who works for Christian Aid and went to visit the Holy Land and Christian Aid partners there back in 2003. The conditions that he found then, and the fate of the people, is as true today as it was 10 years ago, and Martin wrote the following version of 'O Little Town'.
www.martinjohnnicholls.co.uk
The words are very powerful, and if you then watch this clip about the Christmas story as told by people living in the Bethlehem area, it really underlines a deeper sense of the real meaning of Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQDl95tOcU
May you have a peace-filled Christmas, may the fullness of God Incarnate be alive in you this day, and may 2014 be a year when we get fresh revelations on God working His Kingdom out here on earth, through us, through those around us, and through God's people around the world.
But the carol 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' is always a hard one to sing. When you consider what life is like now for the people of Bethlehem, what has happened to that town as a result of fear and hatred replacing love and light in that region - it's hardly a town where people have dreamless sleeps, or a peace-filled town.
Martin John Nicholls is a talented singer / song-writer who works for Christian Aid and went to visit the Holy Land and Christian Aid partners there back in 2003. The conditions that he found then, and the fate of the people, is as true today as it was 10 years ago, and Martin wrote the following version of 'O Little Town'.
Oh
broken town of Bethlehem
Oh broken
town of Bethlehem
Your people
long for peace,
But
curfews, raids and closure barricades
Have
brought them to their knees
Yet still
they strive for justice
And still
they make their stand
Their hopes
and fears still echo down the years
Come, heal
this holy land.
Oh holy
child of Bethlehem,
A royal
refugee,
Your place
of birth is now a hell on earth
Through our
complicity.
The
innocents still suffer,
Their backs
against the wall.
We see the
curse, the violence and worse
And choose
to ignore it all.
Oh holy
streets of Bethlehem
Deserted
and destroyed
The
frightened faces fill the sacred places
Pilgrims
once enjoyed.
Yet in the
midst of darkness
A hopeful
beacon shines:
The future
lies in humble sacrifice
And not in
guns and mines.
Oh holy
star of Bethlehem
Help us to
watch and pray.
With love
and light illuminate the night
Reveal the
Kingdom’s day.
Lord, dare
us to be angels
Your
awesome truth to tell.
It must be
heard:
You are the
final word,
Our Lord,
Emmanuel.
© 2003 Martin John Nicholls
Dedicated to Nader Abu Amsha and the
staff of East Jerusalem YMCA, Beit Sahour (Shepherd's Field) near Bethlehem.
The words are very powerful, and if you then watch this clip about the Christmas story as told by people living in the Bethlehem area, it really underlines a deeper sense of the real meaning of Christmas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjQDl95tOcU
May you have a peace-filled Christmas, may the fullness of God Incarnate be alive in you this day, and may 2014 be a year when we get fresh revelations on God working His Kingdom out here on earth, through us, through those around us, and through God's people around the world.
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