Tonight, I attended a “Journey to Bethlehem” at Salem
Baptist Church in Cary, NC. This has
become a tradition for me to join my son Ted and his family on this adventure. This church has been conducting this
wonderful program for the community for many years. I want to lead my readers through the
footsteps of tonight’s journey.
The Marketplace
We started in the
gymnasium where they have many tables set up with board games and coloring
sheets to entertain the families who are waiting for their turn. A time is designated for each group and can
be reserved in advance. Cassie, my
daughter-in-law is always prompt in reserving us a time to attend. At the appointed time, our number is called
and we gather along the wall with a total of about 20 people, children and
adults, at the entrance to the journey.
We have our own guide who is appropriately dressed in his tunic, sash,
sandals and cloth draped over his head.
He is carrying a walking staff and informs us of our journey to Jerusalem
but says there has been talk of a special star and a baby. He wants us to ask around the marketplace to
see what we can find out about this rumor.
We were each given 2 “shekels” (jar lids) to spend in the marketplace,
our first stop. We were warned to choose
wisely and told that beggars might be encountered along the road, in case we
wanted to save a shekel for the poor. The
marketplace is dimly lit with candles and tables of goods with vendors calling
out to us from both sides to buy their wares.
There was bread, fish (goldfish crackers), small boxes of raisins and
honey (candy) to snack on or trinkets such as seashells, marbles, rings and
bracelets. These vendors were all dressed in the clothing of their day and the
noise level was quite loud. With one of
my shekels, I bought 2 pieces of honey candy in the marketplace. A bell rang that indicated we must move
forward, and we followed our guide into the hallway.
King Herod
We immediately approached
two Roman guards (appropriately dressed) who demanded to know our
intentions. Our guide explained we were
looking to see King Herod because he might have information about the rumor of
the baby. The guard received permission
from Herod to let us enter. Our guide
had warned us before entering that Herod had a bad reputation for being angry
and impatient. I heard my six-year-old
grandson say to the guide, “I hope this doesn’t go bad”. As we entered his majesty’s room, a group of harem
girls were dancing in a circle to some music, and the King was sitting on his
throne. The room was more spacious than any other room we entered that night
and was filled with treasures. King
Herod jumped out of his chair and yelled in a thunderous voice for the dancing
to “stop”. He then proceeded to inquire with
his servant and then to his prophet about the baby that was to be born a king!
He was ranting and pacing and suddenly he shouted “dance” to the harem girls
and “leave” to us! We left his presence
immediately.
The Wisemen & Amos
From there we found the three wisemen who were camped outside
the city and who were also searching for the baby by way of the star. They said they were going to see King Herod
the next day, to which I wanted to advise them “Don’t go there!”. These kings were huddled around a fake fire and
wearing ornate costumes, headdresses and jewels. I especially noticed the large, jeweled rings
on their fingers. They, frankly, did not have much to tell us, but stated they
would have to choose their words wisely around King Herod. We journeyed
on. We went down another hallway and up
a ramp that led to the door of our guide’s friend Amos. He thought Amos would know something to tell
us about the star and at this point suggested we go to Bethlehem instead of
continuing on to Jerusalem. He knocked
and when the doorkeeper answered, once again our guide explained that we were
in search of information. The doorkeeper
yelled out to Amos that our guide, Azariah, was here to see him. He answered that because we were “children
and old people” who had been traveling for so long, he would see us. We
proceeded down the winding hallways, all of which were draped with burlap or
canvas and with string lights along the edges.
At the home of Amos and Ruth, we were told that no great people had ever
been born in Bethlehem. Amos suggested
we seek out information from the bakery at the edge of town.
The Beggar & the Bakery
As we left there, a beggar was perched on the ground crying that
she needed money to feed her children. I
gave her a shekel that I had kept in reserve. We were just about to go to the outskirts of Bethlehem
when we encountered the bread shop. We
entered and inquired about the star and the baby’s birth, but the bread sellers
just scoffed and laughed maniacally at us.
They insulted us, to which my nine-year-old grandson said, “how dare
you, I’m getting out of here”! Azariah agreed.
The Angels & the Shepherds & the Star
It was then that we
made our way outside to seek the shepherds in the fields. On our way we encountered a host of heavenly angels
who declared Jesus’ birth. The angel
spoke and said, “Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy for unto
us is born in the city of David, a savior, who is Christ the Lord”. As we turned the corner, we could see a group
of shepherds holding their hooks and standing around a real campfire. We approached and our guide asked about the
star. The shepherds acknowledged that
they had been following that star and pointed it out to us. They had their sheep and goats in a fenced area
nearby and we were allowed to visit their animals. My 18-month-old granddaughter was very fond
of the “BA-BA’s” and did not want to continue.
We did, however, make our way in the direction of the star hanging in
the distance and entered a building.
The Innkeeper
Our guide knocked at the door of the inn and the innkeeper
answered right away. He knew of the
mother with child and told of how he had directed them to sleep in the stable
since he had no more room in the inn. All the while, Hannah is calling out “BA-BA,
BA-BA” for the sheep! As he slammed the door he proclaimed, “I won’t
open it again, I am closed at this inn!”
Before he closed, he told us the directions to the stables. We proceeded to make our way out the door and
into a dark sanctuary where the only light was shining on a cavernous
structure. There in the light were Joseph
and Mary holding the baby Jesus. A live
nativity. It was actually played by a
husband and wife and their newly born baby boy.
A narrator told of the baby’s birth and how he lived a perfect life as
the son of God in flesh, then how he died for our sins and rose again. It was brief, but powerful. The children were all gathered around the
steps leading up to the nativity scene. We exited the sanctuary and entered the
parking lot where our guide Azariah bid us farewell and thanked us for going on
the journey with him. If you ever get a
chance to take this journey to Bethlehem, I highly recommend it. These folks have put their heart and soul
into making this experience both realistic and meaningful. The entire
walk-through program was 40 minutes.
Tammy Harvey
12/13/2025
