Carpentering for the Carpenter

A few days ago Colleen and I went to Bethlehem! No not the town in Israel, nor the the one in Pennsylvania. Rather it was in the middle of Grande Prairie. A church there had set up what they called "Bethlehem Live."

How "live" was it? Well there was a live donky, a live horse, two live cows, three live sheep, a half-dozen live chickens, and about a dozen live pigeons. And Roman Sodiers too numerous to keep track of. Oh yes, one of them was riding the horse. There were lots of live people too.

First we went inside the church and registered. We were given either two shekels or a danari (to pay our taxes) and then assigned to the Tribe of Reuben. As we waited for our tribe to be called we sat in the sanctuary and listened to some people singing southern gospel Christmas tunes.

Soon our family head came and called for those from his tribe. Off we went, out a side door and into the night on our way to Bethlehem. Fortunately it was a rathen mild evening. On our journey to Bethlehem we met Roman soldiers (each one with an attitude), beggars, and an injured person. Actually he was a decoy for the thieves to come and rob us of our tax money. But fortunatey a Roman soldier came riding up on his horse and chased off the thieves. "Sometimes the Roman soldiers come in handy," our family head told us. Then we met some shepherds who talked about seeing and hearing angels announcing a special birth in Bethlehem. Finally in Bethlehem, we had to go to the town square where many things were being sold: chickens, cloth, spelt, wool, etc. We found a money changer there and had our shekels changed into denari.

Soon we came to the tax collector who gladly took our denari. He was in a grumpy mood for someone literally raking in all that money. As we left we could here him counting: "One of Caesar, one for me..."

A lady in the street was quoting Scripture. Various prophecies about a coming Messiah. She seemed quite excited since she had heard reports of a baby in a stable. Ahead of us was the inn. The grouchy inn-keeper said he was full up, but if we wished, our family could take refuge in the stable. Apparently a young couple had already done that.

Around behind the inn, there it was! There were cows on one side and a donley on the other. But in the middle was a stable. Really it was just a shed about the size of two outhouses. As we beheld the young couple and the baby they were holding, a shepherd explained Who this baby was. The exciting climax had come. The Messiah had been born. And we had the honor of meeting Him.

Afterwards we went back inside the church for cookies, warm drinks, and visiting with friends.

All in all, "Bethlehem Live" was a memorable experience that reminded us of the true origin and purpose of Christmas. I left feeling like I was now in the (proper) Christmas spirit.