Pilgrim Adventures: Nazareth
Traveling through Israel today is the experience of finding two countries uncomfortably existing under one recognized nation. One of the countries is modern and developed with shining new architecture, smooth roads, and sprawling fields of bananas and lemons. The other country is a developing nation with congested, crumbling roads, horns blaring, haphazard shops free from structured building codes, and poverty littering the fields. The two countries are separated along ethnic and religious lines, with the developed nation inhabited by Jewish Israelis, and the developing nation occupied by Arabs, mostly Muslim. Driving to modern day Nazareth is to venture into the chaotic capital of Arab Israel. 80,000 people are crammed into the dry foothills west of the Sea of Galilee, with a slender 2 lane road clogged with traffic, attempting to move people in and out of the settlement.
Walking up a cobbled street, past women in headwraps, and young men selling kabobs, the enormous and gorgeous Church of the Annunciation rises like a white fortress. Its five story ceiling glitters with lights, stained glass, and arches that rival the best cathedrals in Europe, but its basement is the real attraction.
Looking down an enormous opening in the floor, you see a simple cave dwelling, believed to be the childhood home of Mary, Jesus’ mother. It was here the angel Gabriel came to the insignificant teenage girl and told her she was chosen to bear the Jewish Messiah, the Savior of the world. I was captivated by the contrast of the stunning contemporary architecture, and the simple cave home of a devout, poor woman. Truly, God often lifts the humble and poor things of the world up to be the most significant. But I found myself even more intrigued by our next Nazareth stop.
We traveled across a courtyard and made our way into a Catholic convent. A French nun explained to us they had been excavating a prominent site for the past several decades that dated to the time of Christ. Nazareth, at the time of Jesus, was a very small town, just a few hundred people spread across a dry hillside, scattered with rocks and few trees. Jesus was often dismissed by those in power because of his insignificant origins in this small town. The nun led us through a hallway and down a staircase that descended about 25 feet. Centuries of sediment and earth movement mean the structures from the first century are generally buried by about 30 feet of sand. We entered into a garage-sized cave, and the nun mentioned how the prevalence of caves in the area was often utilized by first century families to house their animals. This cave, however, seemed to have special historic significance. Like a scene from The Goonies, when they dug out this cave, behind a thin wall was a full skeleton, in the seated position, likely a prominent bishop that had been buried. At this point, they knew they had come across an important site. With continuing excavation, a stone home was discovered. It included a couple of rooms, a low arched entryway, and a dining area. For a poor Jewish community, the construction was impressive, like it was built by someone in the building profession.
Further digging showed a family tomb beneath the house, which, because of Jewish cleanliness laws, was only allowed in the case of a very prominent or famous person. And also, there were stairs built going down to the house from pilgrims during the Middle Ages, showing this was a site that had been revered for hundreds of years following the time of Jesus. So then, what was discovered? It was a first century home, in the small, poor Jewish village of Nazareth. It has the characteristics of being built by a professional. The person who lived there was given a special burial, and the site was revered by Christians, even bishops, for hundreds of years afterward. The site is likely the childhood home of Jesus, build by his father, Joseph. And his parents, considered righteous leaders by the early church, were given a special burial there.
Imagine an all-powerful God, that chose to empty himself of his divine privilege and power to grow up in a couple of dusty rooms in the poor village of Nazareth. Imagine him learning from a blue-collar builder, and his devout wife, about how to speak, and walk, and say his prayers, and swing a hammer. Imagine Jesus taking on all the inconveniences of adolescence, and domestic life, so that he could be one of us, to die the death that we deserved, so that we, if we put our faith in him, can be raised to his home in the presence of God’s glory. Jesus the Nazarene. It is no longer an insult. Now, it is a source of our praise. Together in the Journey, Father Cam Lemons
(Father Cam Lemons serves at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church. Service is at 9 a.m. on Sunday at 700 Hobson St. in Bishop. He also serves at Trinity Memorial Anglican Church in Lone Pine. The service there is at noon at 220 N. Lakeview Road. For more information, go to StTimothysBishop.com.)