Holy Places and Holy Stories
“Bethlehem and Nazareth and Jerusalem remind us that it is to possible to touch, and hold and see God, even in this life, in the guise of helpless infants, worried parents, broken bodies and empty tombs.”—Br. James Koester, SSJE, from “Brother, Give Us a Word,” a daily email sent to friends and followers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE.org).
Children’s Chapel National Cathedral
Many of you have visited the Holy Land and been to these “thin places.” For me, visiting these shrines has made the stories of what happened at each place more vivid. For those who have not traveled to these sites, the stories are still powerful and often can come alive in our own imagination or through art. There are also places that represent these holy shrines that can bring them alive. I am thinking of the National Cathedral’s Bethlehem Chapel, Children’s Chapel, Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea, and Chapel of the Resurrection.
Each holy site can also represent a part of our own lives.
Our Bethlehem is not only the location of our birth, but the place where we begin to feel alive, reborn—that we are becoming the person God created us to be. Our “Bethlehem” often is a retreat refuge where our life was changed. Our “Nazareth” can be not only the place where we were raised, but also the places where we are still cared for, nourished, and restored. For many, their Nazareth is their church or spiritual community.
Jerusalem is the holiest of places. It is the place where God most clearly lives. It is where we suffer, and also where parts of us have to die. But miraculously, out of this suffering, we find resurrection. I am mindful of Jerusalem most often in a grief recovery group called Walking the Mourner’s Path. It is with the participants we see great suffering transformed into new life. The work involves honoring loved ones who have died and becoming wounded healers to others who have suffered.
Each city images a new life, a new birth, a resurrection. Renewal can be messier at some places and easier and gentler at others.
Today may we contemplate where these holy cities reside in our lives. Where are the places we go to be reborn, to be nourished, and to be resurrected out of the suffering of these days?
Joanna. Joannaseibert.com