Mary's Little Town of Nazareth

Last Thursday (December 20th, and that is 20/12, 2012!) was the coldest day since I arrived in Israel a month and a half ago. It also happened to be the heaviest stormy and rainy day this Israeli winter. Though it was inconvenient to have that kind of rain and storm, it is so beautiful in this desert land because it is the season it is green everywhere.

View from the highway near Nazareth

To celebrate the season of Advent, though it doesn't seem to be such a big deal herein Israel, I went to Nazareth in that rain and storm last Thursday.

Why Nazareth?
First, it is only about 30 Km from Haifa, and I could just hop on a bus and get there in an hour. Bethlehem, the little town of David where Jesus was born, is more than 3 hour trip and it is very touristy tonight and this whole week (so... why bother?).

More importantly, Nazareth is where the Angel appeared to Mary and told her the big news. In fact, there are three accounts of annunciation in the New Testament of Bible, including one to Joseph, Mary's then husband-to-be. But Mary gets the spotlight and that's the case with the archaeological significance in the little town of Nazareth.

Modern Nazareth with its 80,000 inhabitants makes the largest Arab city in Israel. I found this Nazareth  Official Tourism website (http://www.nazarethinfo.org) and it was a very helpful "guide" to the city before I went there. A city on a hill (600 meter from the sea level), Nazareth's roads are narrow and hilly everywhere. I wondered about if John the Baptist was walking around between Nazareth and Galilee when he said, "every valley shall be filled in and every mountain and hill made low" (Lk 3:5) because Galilee is only 30 KM away from Nazareth and it is more than 200 m below the sea level.

View to the city of Nazareth from the highest point

Old narrow street up and down the hill

 Because of the significance "Jesus of Nazareth" brought to otherwise this little insignificant town, the past two millennia of history is dynamic but a little sad. Starting from Christian Jewish town in the early years, then Muslim rule, and the Crusades from Europe and so on. Much of the detailed account is documented on the website mentioned above. As I said, the magnitude of Mary's importance overpowers everything else here. It feels kind of nice to know what a faithful obedience at the age of 14 could bring to the rest of the history in the culture where traditionally women were (and still are in some  places in this land) viewed largely insignificant.

Facade and entrance to the Basilica of Annunciation (Mary's)

On the same compound of the Basilica of Annunciation, the Church of St. Joseph is tucked away in a quiet corner attracting far fewer people who bother to remember Joseph in this story!

Statue of the Holy Family, left to the humble entrance

Magnificent Interior: the Sanctuary of the Basilica
(A group of Nigerians were listening to the guide)

Simple beauty of the Church of St. Joseph

Altar in front of Mary's Cave where she encountered the angel, Gabriel
(at the lower level of the Basilica of Annunciation) 

This is the heritage built and kept by the Roman Catholic Church on the historical sites of Mary's home and Joseph's home (where Jesus might have lived in his early years). We are told that Mary encountered the angel, Gabriel while she was home.

When Greek Orthodox Christians started to come to Nazareth, they were only allowed to pray at "Mary's well," so they built their church of Annunciation there (about 1.5 KM away from the Basilica).

Entrance and bell at Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation

Icon - Annunciation 

View from the entrance

Mary's Well

Miracle Child. 

That's what Mary is known for and that's why the little town of Nazareth has two churches dedicated to her name and her encounter with the angel. In the Bible, there are four stories depicting miraculous childbirths through the angelic encounters. Before Mary, there were Sarah and Hannah of the Old Testament and Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, whose story is closely linked to that of Mary's. The difference between the first three and Mary's is what this miraculous childbirth does to these women. Sarah, Hannah and Elizabeth had their dignity restored as their womanhood and motherhood was restored through their miraculous childbirths. They all received this miracle of childbirth in their advanced age, when biologically impossible. 

Unlike these three other women, for Mary, this miracle child meant shame and scandal, especially before her marriage, to herself and her fiancé as we see in Joseph's part of the story. And probably shame would go to her family and Joseph's in this little town of Nazareth. But her "yes" to the angel and to her God of mighty works and miracles, as she sings her joy (Lk 1:46-56, Magnificat), gave birth to a child who was not just a recipient of a miracle, but who is the Miracle Maker himself. 

The little town of Nazareth gave an example of ultimate obedience that human race can give to their Maker through Mary and her little baby.