2nd Day in Nazareth and Cana

Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”   John 1:46

Today we went to Nazareth to see! 

For the first time today, we really felt that we were in the footsteps of Jesus.  We began with Bible study led by your pastor (referred to here as the “Holy Father, Pastor Miller” by Illume travel company staff) in the hotel’s prayer room.  This was followed with striking early morning views over the Sea of Galilee from the cliffs of Mount Arbel, looking out over the village of Magdala, home of Mary Magdalen.  Jesus likely would have walked many times along the very road we saw below on his way back and forth between Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee.  Marnel Williams and Wendy Petti led our group in singing “Go Tell It On the Mountain” and “Here I am, Lord”.  Jean Fisler inspired us all with her determined climb up the steep path.

Today we explored the differences between truth and fact.  Was Jesus really born in Bethlehem, or perhaps in Nazareth? Was Mary really told she would bear God’s son by an angel at the spot now in the grotto in the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth or was it perhaps in some other place?  While our faith is being strengthened by feeling that we are very very close to religious figures we have believed in our whole lives, we realize that 2000 years have left some faded memories about exactly where things may have happened.  Indeed, some of the artifacts from Joseph’s carpenter’s workshop or stone jugs from the Cana wedding are now 10 or 20 or more feet underground.

Among our most memorable experiences today were a visit to the spot in Nazareth where Mary was visited by the angel telling her she would soon be expecting God’s child (and reading the familiar Luke 1 verses with new appreciation) and to Joseph’s workshop next door, where we could imagine the boy, Jesus, running through the dusty lane.  We also enjoyed visiting a church built over the presumed site of the Wedding at Cana—and seeing  a large stone jar that may have contained the water that Jesus turned into fine wine.  As we left the Cana wedding site, the sound of Muslim call to prayers wafted over the neighborhood of this multi-cultural society—largely Jewish, but partly Muslim, partly Christian, partly Druse.  Our faith grows stronger every day and we are humbled to be here on this Holy ground.

Rob Wescott and Karen Wise

Some photos from the day, courtesy of John and Kay Norvell: