JESUS’ HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Day 2 of our Holy Land pilgrimage has arrived. As we journey along, I hope the places and scriptures come alive so you personally experience the fifth gospel. A gentle reminder to pause for a few minutes to think about and answer the reflection questions you will find along the way. Enjoy today’s sights, my dear reader~

Here is a map of the Holy Land where you can locate some of the places we will visit on our pilgrimage: Nazareth, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Cana, Magdala, Tabgha, Bethsaida, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, Jerusalem, Mount of Temptation, Jericho, Masada and Tel-Aviv.

 

Photo courtesy of Jack Steffen under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC 2.0)

 

While walking in the footsteps of Jesus, it is appropriate to visit the site where it all started. We begin our pilgrimage today in Nazareth, at the house where Mary, who would become the mother of Jesus, lived.

I felt the sacredness of being in this place as I gazed upon the actual site where Mary lived, caught in the moment of visualizing the angel Gabriel coming to a young teen girl. She had no idea how things would work yet Mary gave us the perfect example of being open to God’s will for her life. I enjoyed some extra free time here, reflecting on the Annunciation and Mary’s “Yes” to God.

 

The house where the angel greeted Mary

 

Staircase in the house where Mary grew up

 

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.  For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.  –Luke 1:26-38  (NIV)

Reflection:  Do you see yourself as the Lord’s highly favored servant? Do you trust  God, letting Him work in your life, without trying to figure everything out?

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We fast-forward nine months as we travel to Bethlehem, the place where Jesus was born. It is believed the 14-point star on the floor is the exact spot where Jesus was born. The star has a Latin inscription that says, “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.” The 14-point star represents the three sets of 14 generations in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Here the Son of God became the Son of Man, so we are Sons/Daughters of God! Emmanuel, God is with us!

 

“Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.”

 

The 14-point star.

 

A few feet away is the place where Jesus was laid in the manger, a feeding trough for animals.

 

The feeding trough/manger where newborn Jesus was laid

 

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.  He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.  While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.  –Luke 2:1-7  (NIV)

Reflection:  Does the inn of your heart need more room for Jesus? Does your life reflect the same humility as Jesus’ humble beginnings?

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Our last stop on today’s pilgrimage journey is to a small town east of Bethlehem, to a place called Shepherd’s Field.  We enter a cave where the shepherds would have been busy tending to their flock when they received some good news from an angel of the Lord. Shepherds were considered the lowly and poor ones in society, yet God chose them to be the first ones to learn about the birth of Jesus!

It was a powerful experience to be in the cave and put myself in the shepherd’s place while hearing the angel’s good news. Isn’t it comforting to think how they were warned not to be afraid of seeing an angel, as angels were usually associated with death? Then they suddenly hear the heavenly host praising God. The shepherds were excited to go to Bethlehem to see the Messiah, which in turn made them glorify and praise God. They were the first evangelists!

 

 

The inside of the cave at Shepherd’s Field

 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those 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.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.  –Luke 2:8-20  (NIV)

Reflection:  Do you react to the good news of Jesus with joy in your heart?  Do you glorify and praise God for the way you see Him work in your life?

 

 

As you reflect on our pilgrimage stops this week, be encouraged to remember…

…you are the Lord’s servant.

…Emmanuel, God is with you always.

…to give glory and praise to God for all He does in your life.

 

I will leave you with this song that is appropriate to reflect on as we end Day 2 of our pilgrimage. Click the link below to listen and be blessed~

Amy Grant Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song) – The Nativity Story

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  –John 1:1-5  (NIV)