Today, 23rd December, was the annual hospital Christmas
party. Patients, guests and staff got together to hear about the message of
Jesus, the baby born at Bethlehem with songs, readings and a nativity play. It
went very well, a couple of hundred
people, the village chief , local imams, patients and visitors who especially
seemed to enjoy the Nativity play that went especially well and the
refreshments afterwards.
Pastor asked me to say a few words at the beginning .What do
you say at a fete like that?
Al salaam a leekum
(Peace be with you)
We are here today for a Christmas party, to celebrate the
birth of Jesus. All of us here seek to
follow the God of Abraham. Jesus, as a
Jew, was also part of the family of Abraham. You might know him as a prophet, I
know him as something more. We may differ but we can all seek to learn more
about him. Before we listen to the Gospel and watch the play I would like to
share something with you.
I don’t speak much Arabic but to introduce our party I want
to look at a couple of Arabic words with you. They are both place names which
you will hear about in the Bible readings and play that will follow. The place
names are Nazareth and Bethlehem.
Ana nassara (
note: a mildly derogatory name for a white European/American). I am not a nassara
because my skin is white. I am not a nassara because I come from England. But I
am proud to be a nassara because I am a disciple of the man who came from
Nazareth, Jesus. That is the origin of the word nassara, from Nazareth. It is where Jesus grew up, and it is where
the first scene of our play will take place. I am proud to be a nassara a
follower of the man from Nazareth.
I heard an Arab speak
earlier this year, he is also a nassara, a follower of Jesus. He would be quick
to say that he doesn’t come from Nazareth but rather Bethlehem, his family home.
This is the town where Jesus was born. The name Bethlehem is said to come from the
old Hebrew, ‘ bêth lehem’ meaning house of bread.
Jesus is known as the ‘bread of life’, which means that he is essential for
everyday existence, I can’t live without him. So it seems right that he is born
in a town named ‘house of bread’
Today most of the people who live in Bethlehem are not Jews
but Arab so what does the name Bethlehem mean to them and you who are also Arab
speaking? ‘Bêt laham’ House of meat. Bethlehem
and the hills around was where the shepherds raised the lambs for use in
sacrifice in the Jewish temple. So for Jesus, known as the ‘lamb of God’ who
gave his life as a sacrifice to be born in Bethlehem is also right.
Which origin of the word is the real one? Surely it is that
both the Arabic and Jewish forms can teach us something about God and his
purposes. Jesus ‘bread of life born’ in the Hebrew ‘house of bread’ essential
to sustain us each day and Jesus ‘lamb of God’ who gave his life for us born in
the Arab 'house of meat'. This can be a lesson to us all as we share words together.
Today, dear guests, patients and colleagues, as we watch our
play of the birth of Jesus and in the year ahead, I hope that we can learn more
from each other about the ways of God.
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