There is Always Something Holy

Nazareth—we’re running late. And probably by the time we get to the Church of Annunciation the Grotto of Annunciation will be closed. I’ve reflected often that the theme of Israel for Christian pilgrims is as follows: This is where Jesus did ___________ and so we built a church on it. The Church of Annunciation is where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would give birth to the Son of God whom she was to name Jesus.

From John: “The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, ‘We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.’ Nathanael said to him, ‘Can anything good come out of Nazareth?’ Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’” (John 1:43-46)

Nazareth is now a busy city of almost 200,000 people. In Biblical times, so to speak, Nazareth was all of a few hundred people at most, never mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures and not very noteworthy in other historical records. So that we might know the VERY cave in which Mary and her family resided I suppose is possible, but between my inner skeptic and our inability to actually walk down into the grotto, well, I wasn’t feeling the holiness of the whole thing.

In fact, well, I thought it was kind of ridiculous.

However, there were amazing works of art on the walls—

a collection of artistic renditions of the annunciation

from around the world—

and in a winding stairwell to the lower level of the church

were some of the most beautiful stained glass windows.

There is always something Holy.