Bethlehem, Jesus was born their into a world where power and politics oppressed freedom, religious freedom. We went into silence, reflecting that the world did not change! Today we hear of oppression of faith, modern slavery, exploration of women and children and also men used as workforces for inhuman and in slavery jobs. The word of Math 13.15… “For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart …” …becomes even more powerful in this place where Jesus was  born.