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Today we travel to Bethlehem and to the Church of the Nativity. In 330a.d. Constantine commissioned the building of the church over the traditional birthplace of Christ.

Read Micah 5:2-5a

If nothing else, Bethlehem means hope. As the birthplace of King David, Israel’s greatest leader, Bethlehem was looked to as a source of hope for the future. With the birth of Christ that hope has been realized, and yet, with the turmoil of human relationships and the destruction we cause to each other and the earth, we find ourselves still in need of hope. Let us remember today the hope we have in Christ, the love he gives from the God who created all that exists, and the promise of a future we are given. Let us not sink into dismay but rather live as a people with hope.

As you pray today, pray for peace, in your life and around the world, for that is the hope we have been given through the birth of Jesus Christ.