December 14 – “Bethlehem Street Market”

The village street market in Bethlehem was a bustling place.  The tax station was of course there, where salt and various types of produce as well as animals were weighed and the customs on them calculated and paid.  A money changer’s booth was near at hand as well.  Passersby paused in the inner court to play games of chance.  Beggars frequented this area as well, crying out for alms while being careful to keep their distance.  Vendors, pedestrians, litter bearers, and pack animals all vied for space.  Wares ranged from fabric to fully sewn clothing, grains to baked bread, casks of wine to containers for cooking, scales for weighing, pottery for daily use, baskets for fruit, straw for animals, meats of all kinds hanging about, covered with flies and smelling stronger and stronger as the day wore on.  The market was more than merely a one-stop shopping center, however.  It was the place for meeting friends, making business contacts, recounting tales of the past, and expounding hopes for the future.  The street market was the heartbeat of the village.

Today, in the village of Jamaica Beach on the Island of Galveston, from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., the Bethlehem Street Market will be revived on the site of Seaside Church.  Crafters from all over the county will man booths and pitch their wares just in time for the celebration of the birth of the One born right in the middle of such hustle and bustle a few thousand years ago.  Along with the crafts for sale, there will also be horse rides, puppets, and of course, food.

The thing that makes Seaside’s Bethlehem Street Market unique is that we aren’t trying to put on some elaborate production.  That would be better named the Jerusalem or maybe even the Roman Market.  But Bethlehem is not Jerusalem.  Jamaica Beach is not Houston.  Small town.  Down-home folks.  They make things.  They sell them to help get by.  They know each other.  And they care. 

It’s our second year of operation.  I understand the horse rides will be back.  As will lots of vendors with crafts to choose from.  There will be food.  And puppet shows for the kids.  Oh, and one returning booth back by popular demand will be Gentile-ly Used Goods.  This one will look remarkably like a garage sale, and proceeds will go toward sending teenagers to summer camp. 

So, take a trip with us into the past.  Set your new-fangled GPS for 16534 San Luis Pass Road and come on down.”  

Luke 2:13-15 says, “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’”

Father, thank you for the Bethlehem Event.  It really did change everything.  Amen.