At this time of year shop-keepers encourage us to celebrate "Christmas in July". Their motive is purely commercial: Get people to buy presents for each other, to have parties…..do things that will boost the economy. In actual fact, though, there's no reason why we shouldn't reflect on the message of Christmas in July, or at any other time of the year.

Seeing a "Christmas in July" advertisement on TV recently, I found myself thinking about the place that is the focal point of the Christmas story: Bethlehem.

Bethlehem is a place dear to Jews and Christians. It was David's city, as well as Jesus' birthplace. The word, "bethlehem" literally means "house of bread". At Christmas time, it's often mentioned in carols and the word conjures images of beauty. It has a very romantic appeal.

However, there is a different way of looking at Bethlehem, a way that could cause us to ponder: Why did this place that was touched by God in such a unique way, become a place of great tragedy? And, can we learn something from this?

Look at what happened at Bethlehem following the birth of Jesus and the coming of the Magi: A great number of innocent children were killed there by an unscrupulous, power-mad king. Bethlehem, the place blessed by God, became a place of great suffering.

2000 years later Bethlehem (pictured right) is still a place of suffering. The thousands of pilgrims who flock to the tradition site of Jesus' birth there, find a town divided by a huge barricade, reminiscent of the old Berlin Wall. Angry, unemployed Palestinians sit around the streets, seeing no future for themselves or their families. The Church of the Nativity is itself a sad place. It is divided by religious denominations who at times are openly hostile to each other.

I wonder if God wants to teach us something by what could be called "the Bethlehem experience"? A place of blessing is also a place of suffering. Are blessing and suffering compatible? Looking for blessing, maybe we shouldn't be surprised to find suffering….The Cross itself is a symbol of this.

There's an English word, "bedlam", which is often used to describe utter chaos. "Bedlam" was actually the name of the world's first mental asylum. It was opened over 500 years ago in England in a building that was originally called, "The House of Bethlehem". "Bedlam" is a corruption of "Bethlehem".

Bethlehem: a place of blessing. Bedlam: a place of chaos. Did this just happen by chance? Is it possible that the Almighty could use Bethlehem/Bedlam as a lesson for the way God works in our lives?

We are constantly challenged by suffering. No matter what form our ministry takes we meet people who suffer or we suffer ourselves. There do not seem to be any satisfactory answers to the question, "Why?"

As Divine Word Missionaries we are dedicated to make real the Word in the lives of those whom we serve. Could we be being called to enable people to hear the Word saying that blessing and suffering are not mutually opposed? In fact, there is always an element of suffering in life. We know from Jesus that this should not be seen as a form of punishment or curse. May our message to our people this July be one that is in line with His essential message, "For God so loved the world that He sent His only son…." Could "Christmas in July" serve as a reminder to ourselves of what the core message of our mission should be?