Journey to Bethlehem

We just finished our annual Journey to Bethlehem. It's a local Christmas tradition Dan and I started participating in before Katie was born. A nearby church puts on this HUGE production that is a re-creation of the birth of Jesus. You travel with a "Family" of about 30 people on your Journey to Bethlehem.

First you stand in line for about 30 minutes, and some of the "townspeople" walk around with animals like goats, donkeys and horses. The kids get to pet them and all the townspeople greet you with, "Shalom."

As you enter the church, you are given papers with your Hebrew name, its meaning, and your place in the tribe of Judah. Your Family goes into the church for a dramatic rendering of the news of Caesar's census, and the Jewish reaction to it. Joseph and Mary also have some discussion about what a hardship it will be to travel to Bethlehem for the census. During tonight's performance, it struck me that all these people were in turmoil. They knew they were God's Chosen People, and thought he was sending a "king" to save them and restore their rightful glory as God's Chosen. Imagine their surprise and possible distrust of God when He sent a baby. Yeah, right. A baby's going to save them? They just didn't know, did they? They had one thing in mind, and God had something else entirely in mind. Not a savior in the way they were expecting, huh? Not a savior to end their Hell on earth. A savior to end their Hell in Hell. I digress.

Then your Family leaves the church through the back door, and you meet a couple (who your Family is supposedly related to) and follow them into the woods on your Journey to Bethlehem for the census. You meet Roman soldiers on the path, who are rude and treat you Jews like cattle. They yell at you to show your papers and shoo you on your way. You go into the forest and find a bonfire and a tent, where other travelers have stopped to camp on their way home from Bethlehem. They tell you that they saw some Magi who say there is a special star foretelling the birth of our savior. Your guides are amazed at the news of Magi and news of a baby savior. You continue on the trail to another campfire, where scribes are translating Scripture. The third campfire is where the Magi have stopped on their way to Bethlehem, and you get to see their exotic camels and the pricey gifts they are taking to the baby King. Real camels, y'all. In the middle of the Missouri woods.

The next campfire is where shepherds have stopped to warm themselves, and they talk of seeing the star that the Magi mentioned. All of a sudden, an angel appears in the woods. Seriously. She tells of the Great News of the Savior's birth, then a host of angels appear with her and sing to you.

Your guides urge you on through the woods, telling you to get to Bethlehem so we can find a place to rest and look for the baby. You go to a large pavilion that holds the Bethlehem marketplace, and the Roman soldiers separate the men and women and force your guides to pay taxes based on an inflated census. You cut through the marketplace where people are trying to sell fish, jewels, roosters, bread, cheese, candles and wine. Next is a little inn, where you ask if you can stay the night. The innkeeper says there is no room, especially for such a large family. They just had a family check in and they agreed to sleep in the stable. The woman even gave birth in there. "What?!" your guides exclaim. It's the Savior! You walk into the stable and see the donkeys, Mary and Joseph around a manger. There's a baby asleep inside. Two shepherds rush in and bow down before Him. Wow. Wow. Can you imagine it?

That's the end of the Journey, and it's a beautiful time. The guides usher you into a gymnasium where there is hot chocolate and a million homemade cookies. (Literally, at least 1,000 dozen or some crazy number like that. See in the photo?) There's Christmas music and all the goodies you can eat. And when you walk out, there's a group of carolers singing to you. The most amazing part? This is all FREE. It's an enormous production for about 16,000 visitors over four nights, and it's all free.

It's one of the best Christmas traditions I've ever enjoyed. Katie loves it, and I'm hoping Jackson will one day too. (We got a babysitter for him tonight.) When I told Katie last night that we were going to Journey to Bethlehem tonight, she squealed because she was so excited. I can't tell you how happy that makes me.