Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem … to offer a sacrifice in keeping with the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.” –Luke 2:22-4
The accompanying photographs show two different views of the rounded shard of a first century stone vessel discovered on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The shard bears a crude inscription of two upside down (presumably dead) birds along with the Aramaic word corban, meaning sacrifice.
When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. (Luke 2:22)
Six weeks after Jesus’ birth, Joseph and Mary walked the six miles from Bethlehem to Jerusalem for the ceremony of Presentation. Pictured in the photograph are the very steps they would have ascended with their newborn son in order to enter the Temple. Later, as a twelve-year boy and then as a man, Jesus would ascend these same steps under His own strength.
“You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)
A manger is a feed trough for animals. The word is related to the French manger, to eat. If you were to attend a French-speaking eucharistic service, as the priest or minister placed the morsel of bread in your hands he would say, “Prenez, mangez.” Take, eat.
The name Bethlehem means House of Bread.
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” –Luke 1:13-14
It’s not a pretty place. In fact it’s pretty garish. But as I emerged from the cave where Jesus is said to have been born, I felt born again.
Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. –Luke 2:15
The picture shows me entering the so-called “Door of Humility” at the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem. This is the front door, the only door, at which one must bow to enter.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)
The first rock in the life of Jesus was a cave. A cave in the house of Mary in Nazareth.
The stones covered in my new book Jesus: His Story In Stone fall into three categories: 1) those we can be fairly certain Jesus knew or even touched; 2) those He probably or possibly knew; 3) those that were not authentically a part of His life but that are reminiscent of stones He did know. As much as possible I’ve given preference to the first two categories, as these hold the greatest evocative power.
“And they are there to this day.” (Joshua 4:9)
My new book, Jesus: His Story In Stone, could be described as an illustrated biography of Jesus. It presents, in chronological order, seventy significant events of the gospel narrative, bringing them to life though photographs and word-pictures of stones that Jesus may have touched, walked on, or seen with His own eyes.
On the night before He died Jesus told His disciples, “I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming” (Jn 14:30).
Last week the world was shocked to learn that the co-pilot of a German airliner had deliberately crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing all 150 people aboard.
In February the Supreme Court of Canada decided unanimously in favor of the right to physician-assisted suicide. The Court has ordered the federal government to pass legislation to this effect within one year, being careful to stipulate that physicians should not be required to adminster death on demand.