Bethlehem and Calvary

Recently I heard a dearest friend and her husband are going to Rome. In one breath I quickly asked if she was going with him, making sure they were going together. I teased that they might get to meet the Pope, who is my new 'Thomas Merton' at the moment. (lol)  Yet the news brought a moment of delight as I recall my short time in Rome all those years ago. I would say that I was young, naive and was completely blind to the history, the richness that lay before me feet and eyes. 

I did art history at school and university, I recall when I was about ten my mother went to England, bring back a large poster of my favorite cathedral. The poster had the layers of the interior and exterior, where statues where placed, art hanged and all the history behind the how the walls came to be. It hang on my wall for years letting my mind wonder with delight of the day I would reach its steps enter into its magical wonder. 

St Peter's Basilica

Upon entering the glorious Sanctuary for the first time I remember feeling the overwhelming beauty that can only leave one speechless. The beauty surrounds you while drawing your eyes towards Pieta - by Michelangelo. 

The statue has exquisite detail and incredible artistry yet there is more than this!! It is like an invitation into the heart and mind of God.. and Mary. Mary so faithful and sorrowful, a Mother holding her lifeless Son. This in itself is a power message. This advent for me, its been hard not to recall this image of Mother Mary, one which is so ingrained in me. In lent season I can see why the tragic 'end' to a miraculous life, many no doubt though on that eerie Friday afternoon. Christians are given a gift of been able to look at Good Friday in retrospect. Over two thousand years later we know that the miraculous end to Good Friday would be revealed on Easter Sunday morning. 

If we want to see clearly, possibly to grip just a fraction of what God sees, we have to look at the big picture of salvation. Jesus death, for me, carries this hugh weight making my heart sink. Yet to even begin to understand Jesus death, I have to begin with His birth. This advent I have taken a little time to do just that, to learn something very interesting… that He was born to die. 

Please let me explain, as that statement has a lot of weight to it!! There is nothing black or white about it. 

If one wishes to be technical, 'pieta' moment first occurred not on Calvary, but in Bethlehem. The manger, or whatever you wish to call the bed in which baby Jesus lay, was always made of wood. It is the 'cross' of Christmas, there is far more going on at Jesus birth than I realize upon first or even fifth glance. 

The joyous Mysteries may not appear that joyful. During advent I heard Jesus referred to as a refugee which brought another layer to this word. Above this though, Mary put into context then transfer over into today's time. A teenage virgin pregnant but not to her husband, then leaves home for three months and later travels over 90 miles using a donkey as mode of transport in her third trimester of pregnancy. Giving birth in a cave surrounded by animals, hears from a prophet that both she and her child will suffer greatly and then, to top it all off, she and her husband have their preteen son go missing for three days. 

I have heard this repeated, read it over throughout the past advent each time hearing it over again, reflecting upon these mysterious events I can not help but begin to see that actually its a cause for intense joy. What if… hear me out… God was on a rescue mission to save us, mission that included some courageous souls fighting through incredibly challenging and painful situation. Not only do the Joyful mysteries make us walk deeply into the conception, birth, childhood of our Lord Jesus, yet it reveals beyond this how madly in love with us God is; stopping at no length to save us from death. 

The similarities between Bethlehem and Calvary are alarming….. 

 From the very clear like Mary, our Mother, been present at both accounts; to Jesus been wrapped in swaddling cloth. Each event was accompanied by a celestial act/sign and who could forget the angels are present during Jesus' birth, death and resurrection. The wooden manger lies between two animals, the wooden cross between two thieves. Jesus was pronounced 'King of the Jews' at each. 

Both events took place on a hill, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Both birth and death/resurrection were foretold in advance as both were miraculous and both involved events ultimately lead to our salvation. 

You know, God is not ironic, he is rather all knowing, all mighty. His plan from the very beginning was to save us, that is why I say Jesus was born to die. When God empty himself and took flesh he was on a mission. Christ came to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. 

In both events history and the future were irreversibly changed forever. 

For my dearest friends who get to go to Rome, I hope you take an afternoon to fully embrace the beauty of the cathedral. To look beyond the tourism, look beyond those who visit the cathedral blind to what is before them like once I stood, taking photos, talking and not able to see what was right before me. Step aside from this and contemplate in your heart, just like I have done this christmas advent, In Jesus birth we celebrate His life, one human words fall short to put any meaning on it, His life which resulted in His death, which offered us all (ALL) new life in Him. What a gift!!!! A gift that never stops giving!!!