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Dec 1 Advent 1: Mary of Nazareth
Isaiah 11:1-6; Luke 1:26-38; A town in Galilee, the angel visits.
Communion in Sanctuary
Children’s time: Hand out Advent cards, nativity scene for children. Julia in Sanctuary.
1) Today is the first Sunday of Advent, the four weeks leading up to
Christmas. Historically the church has used the advent season to prepare
to receive him. We retell the story of Jesus’ first coming and prepare to
receive him as Savior and Lord. For this Advent season, I’ll be
following a pattern used by Adam Hamilton in his book, The Journey:
Walking the Road to Bethlehem. There are five chapters that look at the
major characters and also the geography of the land. Julia and I visited
Israel in 2011 and you may catch a glimpse of us in the pictures I use,
but most of them are from internet sources.
2) Over the next five weeks we will look more closely at Joseph and
Mary and these areas, culminating in celebrating Jesus’ birth in the
manger on Christmas Eve. Mary/Nazareth; Joseph/Bethlehem; Elizabeth
and Zechariah/Ein Karem; Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to
Bethlehem; and finally, Jesus’ birth in Nazareth and his placement in a
manger.
3) We begin with the big picture view of where Israel sits in the world. It
is at the land bridge between Asia and Africa and Europe, on the western
edge of the Middle East.
4) A map of Israel today, clearly shows Jerusalem in the middle with the
Dead Sea and the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee to the north.
Notice the town of Nazareth is shown on this map, but that would not
have been the case in Jesus’ day.
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5) This is a map of the region of Galilee. Nazareth sat in the hill country
between the plain of Megiddo and the mountains of Naphtali. It was
about 15 miles from the Sea of Galilee. To the north and
6) Only four miles away was the capital city of the region, Sepphoris.
We don’t hear much about Sepphoris because it isn’t mentioned in the
Bible, but it had a population of around 30,000 and was the cultural
center. It had important businesses and government buildings as the
capitol of the region, luxury villas, and even an amphitheater. It is
almost certain Joseph and Jesus worked in Sepphoris, because that’s
where the jobs were. The ruins of Sepphoris show many mosaics and
fine villas in the city of Roman and Greek influence.
7) Nazareth was a small conservative hamlet on the outskirts of this
major city. On this map Nazareth and Sepphoris look to be the same
size, but it is not even close. Nazareth was a small town, not even listed
in the 63 towns in the region of Galilee mentioned in the Talmud or the
45 towns listed in Josephus writings. It wasn’t even on the map. In John
1:45-46 Nathaniel asks Philip, “Can anything good come out of
Nazareth?” But it was a good place to hide away as Jesus grew up.
8) This is a picture of Nazareth today but it doesn’t look anything like
Nazareth of Jesus’ day. In this picture to cone shaped roof is the Basilica
of the Annunciation.
9) Annunciation means announcement. This Roman Catholic Church is
where some claim the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary. It is built over
what is believed to be the site of Mary’s family home. From the late
300s there has been a church on this site.
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10) The upstairs part of the church is impressive with its stained glass,
high ceilings, and artwork and it has a really interesting architectural
feature.
11) In the center there is an open area where you can see below to the
earlier construction. From the modern upper level you can look down on
the lower level which has the ruins of an earlier church which has been
carefully preserved.
12) This picture is from the lower level and you can see more steps
going down. The claim is that the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary in her
home over which the earlier church was built. The predominant rock in
the region is limestone which is relatively soft and has many natural
caves in it.
13) When the angel appeared to Mary he had surprising news for her,
but the message was not unexpected or unwanted. The people in
Nazareth traced their ancestors back to David and kept the hope alive
that one day God would send a new king to deliver Israel. They were
waiting for the prophecy of Isaiah 11 to be fulfilled:
14) Read the passage.
15) Can you hear how this passage would give hope to David’s
descendants? The name Nazareth comes from the word netzer, which
means branch or shoot. Isaiah (11:1-4,6) speaks of a shoot coming forth
from the stump of Jesse. A shoot would come up from the stump that
had been cut off by the Babylonians in the 6th century.
16) Families from the line of David lived in caves and small houses in
Nazareth and struggled to keep David’s line going while they waited for
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God to act. This cave is called the Grotto of the holy family. Can you
imagine living in a home like this? Caves were common as homes or
stables or storage areas in that area. For people who could not afford
building materials it was a common practice.
Why would the God of the universe choose a girl from a home like this
in a tiny city like Nazareth? To demonstrate the power of God working
through the least and last to profoundly impact the world.
17) This picture is of the Greek Orthodox Church St Gabriel. Gabriel is
the angel who appeared to Mary. Some argue that Gabriel appeared to
Mary at the spring in Nazareth where she would have gone regularly for
water.
18) Inside the church we see it is also beautifully decorated. It also has a
lower level.
19) The remains from the earlier church are carefully preserved in the
lower level. The church was built at a spring. Every town needs a source
of water to survive.
20) This is a small natural spring in St Gabriel’s that is still active under
the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. When Jesus said he
was living water (John 4:10), do you think he thought of that spring like
this gushing out of the rock which supported Mary and then Jesus’
family as he grew up? What an exciting idea to think this is the spring he
drew from as a child.
21) On the outside of the church there is a public water source called
Mary’s Well. This is a modern picture; it certainly didn’t look like this
in Jesus’ day.
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22) This is a picture from about 100 years ago. Notice lack of buildings
in the background. We have to use our imaginations to go back another
1900 years, but it is pretty certain that Mary spent a lot of time fetching
water from the spring. Perhaps Gabriel appeared to her here, perhaps in
her home. What we do know from Luke is that God sent Gabriel to a
town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
23) What else do we know about Mary? Mary was common name
derived from the Hebrew Miriam and means “exalted one.” She was
probably illiterate. She was young. Luke 3 tells us she was in the line of
David. And she was confused by the angel’s words. “Greetings, favored
one! The Lord is with you” would have been enough to shock and
confuse me. His announcement that she had found favor with God and
would conceive in her womb and bear a son was also a lot to process.
24) Mary asked, “How can this be since I am a virgin?” Or as the
Septuagint puts it, I do not know a man? (Luke 1:34). Both Matthew and
Luke claim a direct action by God to cause this pregnancy in a
supernatural way. She was called Theotokos or God bearer. God became
flesh. Jesus was not simply human or simply divine. Jesus was God in
the flesh, God incarnate.
25) Mary is revered because she bore the son of God. The Basilica of the
Annunciation has a courtyard of mosaics from various countries
portraying Mary.
26) This is one of our favorites from Nazareth
27) This one is from Indonesia
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28) Ireland
29) Vatican
30) Bolivia
31) USA with Julia inside the Basilica.
32) Christians struggle with how to treat Mary. Some perhaps build her
up too much, at least that is what I see when I look at this mosaic from
Czechoslovakia. Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians tend to exalt
Mary but Protestants tend to play down Mary’s role in response. Mary
was chosen by God for a very special role. What’s most incredible is
that she said yes to this plan that in many respects cost her dearly.
33) In Luke 1:28 we heard “Greetings, favored on.” The Interlinear
Bible renders the Greek here as “Hail, one receiving grace.” Grace is
God’s unmerited favor. The angel told Mary not to fear because of
God’s grace for her. The good news of Jesus’ birth is that God’s grace
was being made available to all.
34) From this act we learn about God: who God chooses and how God
favors us. Mary was a nobody from nowhere. God continues to use
nobodies from nowhere to change lives. God’s grace continues to come
to us. In advent, we not only remember, we prepare to receive God’s
grace anew in our lives. God offers to us exactly what we need if we will
accept the gift.
35) As we consider the angel Gabriel coming to Mary, we also learn
about Jesus. The angel tells Mary to name her son Yeshua in Hebrew or
Jesus in Greek, meaning God saves or God delivers. Jesus was God
acting to save the world. God chose to act through a simple unknown
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young woman in a small out of the way town. God’s kingdom is not
realized in the civic power or fame, it is realized in the hearts and lives
of everyday people. What began in rural Nazareth would be heard
around the world.
36) What is amazing to me is that Mary’s response to all this was, “Here
I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”
(Luke 1:38). She said yes despite all the uncertainty. She accepted the
scorn and disgrace that would inevitably follow this pregnancy that she
could not hide. It threatened her family, her betrothal, and even her life,
but she took this most difficult role. God still wants to work through us
today to change the world. What is needed is for us to follow Mary’s
example of complete surrender and commitment to live for God.
As we prepare for Christmas, we do well to remember how Mary
was willing to give herself so that the Messiah could be known by all
people. Christmas is not about the presents we get or the food we eat, or
even the people we visit, it is about our willingness to receive the son of
God who has come to set us free and lead us in ministry to all the world.
Can we say with Mary, “Here I am Lord, use me according to your
will”?