Nazareth (not the band, although I like them).

So yeah, this trip is a pilgrimage for me in many ways. We deliberately chose an itinerary that was NOT Christian church-related, in order to get a true understanding of Israel as it is described in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and today. And believe me, it's been extremely enlightening. Solomon was right, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9). So when I heard we were going to Nazareth, to the Church of the Annunciation {layman's terms, where Mary found out she was gonna give birth to a very, very special baby, without ever having "known" a man}, I was super excited. Her reaction in Luke 1:29 is one of my favorite glimpses of the humanity of the real, actual people in the Bible. The angel Gabriel just shows up to Mary and says, "Hey, you who are mighty favored with the Lord, He's with you!" And Mary says to herself (I paraphrase), "Um, who are you, and what kind of greeting is that to give an innocent, unwed lady that you don't know?". But I digress. We are in Nazareth, and it's not what I expected. For one thing, it's an Israeli Arab stronghold. Most are Christians, but it's still different. It's kinda...slummy. We get up to the actual site though, and it's a beautiful Catholic church. Photos follow. I knew I'd be affected...this is a Holy place. But, I was truly affected most by the fact that while we were there a private mass was taking place and the choir's voices filled the church with praise and the sound of their singing in combination with the fact that the actual cave that Mary and her family lived in is beneath my feet and that this holy site has been protected for thousands of years through Turks and Muslims and Jews and still stands...  I'm not crying - YOU'RE CRYING!!!

The face of the Church of the Annunciation - Nazareth

A beautiful Mary statue and waterfall in the courtyard

The ceiling above the church entrance

The church, the Mass

Beauty.