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By Sid Gomez Hildawa, Special To The Times
WHAT are the chances of being born on Christmas
day? And what are the chances of someone born on December 25
celebrating his birthday in Bethlehem? In my case, the former
question was answered when my mother gave birth to me in 1962, and
the latter was answered last December, when I journeyed to Israel.
Upon the request of the Philippine Embassy in
Tel Aviv, this trip was arranged by the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts (NCCA) to assist the embassy on the ground
works for the installation of a monument commemorating
Philippine-Israel relations. During the 1930s, then-President Manuel
L. Quezon opened the doors of our country to Jews seeking refuge
from Nazi oppression.
Fast forward to 2007, as renowned artist Junyee
(a.k.a. Luis Yee Jr.) adds another coup on his list of awards by
winning in a monument sculpture competition by way of his work
entitled, Open Doors. Junyee will visit Tel Aviv during the later
stages of the monument’s installation, leading up to its formal
unveiling sometime in the first quarter of this year. Meanwhile, I
was on a mission as “John the Baptist,” so to speak, in order
that the contractor in Israel could proceed with the laying of the
foundation and other related civil works.
“This is not a coincidence,” my mother told
me as I left for the airport. She was not referring to the odds of
encountering a suicide bomber, but rather to the exciting prospect
of visiting Bethlehem on my 45th birthday. Having joined a religious
pilgrimage to the Holy Land some years ago, her eyes sparkled with
the joy of having walked where Jesus walked, literally (except on
water). As it turns out, reports of bombings in Israel can be
likened to explosive incidents in our own country: most of these are
sensationalized in the course of reporting the news. As I soon
learned on the ground, Israel is, for most part, peaceful and
orderly, and the people are surprisingly hospitable even as one gets
used to stringent security measures all over the place. After all,
millions of Christian, Orthodox and Muslim pilgrims go and visit
every year. The good news is: holders of Philippine passports do not
need a visa to enter Israel.
The trip started in the capital city of Tel
Aviv, a showcase of modernist Bauhaus architecture, boasting of a
scenic Mediterranean coastline with a historic Jafa port on one end
and a commercial boardwalk development on another. The eastern side
of Israel harbors two lakes: the Sea of Galilee on the north and the
Dead Sea on the South. Alongside these lakes are many Biblical
places like Nazareth, Capernaum, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. By Divine
providence, I was able to visit the cultural and religious sites in
Holy Land, making my Israel journey a truly unforgettable one.
On Christmas day, I joined the Philippine
Embassy staff and the Filipino community in their annual Holy Mass
at Saint Catherine’s Church in Bethlehem, officiated by a Filipino
Franciscan priest named Father Angelo who celebrated the Mass with
Father Ric Fernando of the Salesian order. Adjacent to the church is
the Orthodox temple where the silver “Star of Bethlehem” marks
the area on the ground where the child Jesus was reportedly born.
As with most other “x-marks-the-spot”
attractions in the earthly life of Jesus, evidences about their
accuracy and authenticity come in the form of ancient traditions and
veneration passed on by early Christians. As waves of worshippers
through the centuries enshrine these places in grander buildings and
re-buildings, don’t expect to find original settings in their
pristine condition. For instance, the “Rock of the Agony” in the
garden of Gethsemane now lies jutting out of the floor in front of
the altar of a church built over it.
A smaller opening on the floor of another temple
marks the spot where Jesus is believed to have ascended into heaven.
And the hole in the ground where the holy cross was planted on Mount
Calvary now lies underneath a marble altar, so that pilgrims have to
fall in line and stoop one at a time in order to insert their hands
there. I had to silence the “doubting Thomas” in me to
appreciate these places, peeling away layers of historical
intervention with the eyes of faith. And how much faith does one
need? Jesus said that a tiny speck like the seed of the mustard tree
would suffice.
These questions were actually asked by Vice
Consul Thaddeus Hamoy and his wife Dang (who turns out to be a
long-lost cousin of my mother) who hosted my stay and opened their
home for this first time visitor. They instantly infected me with
the zeal and excitement usually attached to the mere sight of these
holy places.
One morning, I made an overseas call to my
mother and surprised her with Tita Dang on my end of the line. As I
sat at breakfast table overhearing their conversation, I realized
that I had never left home; that I merely returned to the place
where it all started.
On this page, I share with the readers of The
Manila Times the photographs of the places I visited in Israel, my
own version I fondly refer to as my ‘trip to Jerusalem.”
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