Accretions...

Today we visited Tel Megiddo, an archaeological site where there are 26 or thereabouts (depending on which archaeologist you believe) layers of civilization.  Inhabited from about 7000 BC to 586 BC, it is a mound created by fortress built upon fortress.  The remains include an early Canaanite settlement with its large circular altar, a circular communal grain pit from its time as an Israelite fortress, and stables with stone drinking troughs from the reigns of Solomon and Ahab.

Later in the day, as I was walking through the town of Tiberias, I realized that most of the Christian sites that we have seen are layered like Tel Megiddo.  The top layer is almost always a church, sometimes Roman Catholic, sometimes Greek Orthodox.  Down a layer maybe a Crusader church, or perhaps a Byzantine one.  Finally, perhaps down another couple of layers, are remains that date to the time of Christ.  Sometimes it's a village, or a rock, or a well; sometimes accessible, sometimes hidden behind a gate or under the floor.  Somewhere down there is a place that Jesus might actually have lived or visited.

Sometimes our faith is like Tel Megiddo.  Way down at the bottom is the heart of our faith, our relationship with Jesus Christ himself.  Sometimes that dates to our childhood; sometimes it is much more recent.  But since then, layers have built up over that initial experience.  The liturgical traditions that have become meaningful to us, the hymns that we love, the architecture that speaks to us, and the people who have shared our journey all shape our experience of faith.  But there are times when those accretions threaten to overwhelm our core relationship; it is at those times that we need to stop and take time to simply talk with our Savior.

Meanwhile, I'm looking forward to Bethlehem, where apparently we will go down a long flight of stairs and see the exact place where Jesus was born.  Maybe.