On The Way to Bethlehem – Nazareth – Part III
Sermon Title: On the Way to Bethlehem – Simplicity and Significance
Good News Statement: Jesus’ birth shows us our own Advent Journey
Preached: Sunday, December 15th, 2024 at Dogwood Prairie UMC & Seed Chapel UMC
Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.
Scripture (NRSVUE): Luke 1:26-38 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke who tells us that the town of Nazareth—a simple and insignificant town—is the home to someone significant and life changing. Luke invites his readers to find their own “Nazareths” in life and to allow God to meet them where they are. Our scripture reading is Luke Chapter One, Verses Twenty-six thru Thirty-eight. May the hearing and understanding of this scripture add a blessing to your life.
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.
This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”
Introduction:
Any important journey requires planning, preparation, and patience. Questions such as the following are often asked: How will we travel? Will we break up the trip along the way? What will be our route? What kind of weather should we expect? What clothing should we have? Will we need travel documents or even other currency? How long will we be gone for? Who is going to take care of the animals? Who should we notify that we are taking a trip?
Many of us associate the Christmas season with the birth of Jesus Christ, with festive colorful lights adorning the outline of our homes, with certain carols and songs, with photos sent and received in the mail, with packages wrapped in decorative paper and color-coordinated bows, with the smells of evergreen needles, with a tree decorated with memories upon every branch, and with certain iconic commercials. This time of year, the Christmas season is seen in almost everything and everywhere. However, there are many people out in this world that don’t necessarily associate Christmas with the things previously mentioned, but instead associate Christmas with travel.
As a matter of fact, according to a FOX News report from 2023 around this time, it reported that “The Vacationer, a travel agency specializing in theme park excursions, cruises and resort vacations, reported that its survey found more than 50% of respondents plan to travel during the Thanksgiving and Christmas period, suggesting that this holiday season will be one of the busiest.”[1] Later on in the article it noted, “In 2023, AAA projected that 55.4 million people would travel for Thanksgiving and another 115.2 million would travel for the Christmas period—the second-highest amount since 2000.”[2] I recently read that this number is projected to increase for this year. Shannon Thompson, with Elite Travel, said their travel agency has seen an over “20% increase in people traveling for 2024.”[3]
For many people, the anticipation of a journey is half the fun. Doing all this work—the planning and preparation—builds excitement about the places you will see and experiences you hope to have. No matter how much we plan, one thing is for certain, we never return from a journey the same. No matter how much planning and preparation we tend to do before leaving for any sort of journey, something during the journey changes us. As a matter of fact, our journeys shape us. We learn from them. We form and deepen relationships along the way. We have unexpected encounters that move us and provide memories that last the rest of our lives. Have you ever gone on a journey that changed your life or at least opened your eyes to something new?
“It is no wonder that the word journey is used as a metaphor for the spiritual life,” shares author Rob Fuquay in his book On the Way to Bethlehem: An Advent Study. During our spiritual life—our walk with Christ—our life is changed much like it is when we take a vacation. From beginning to end, the Bible is a collection of journeys. God called Abraham to leave his home in the land of Ur of the Chaldeans and make his way to a place God would show him—a place where Islam, Judaism, and Christianity could trace their histories to. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt into the wilderness where they journeyed for forty years: fraught with life-threatening obstacles and life-altering decisions, but yet were given the Promised Land. The residents of Jerusalem journeyed to Babylon defeated and hopeless but were given a new hope and a new desire to live faithfully once they returned to Jerusalem. The disciples journeyed with Jesus throughout Israel for three years not knowing where they were going, not understanding what was happening, and not realizing that their lives were being changed. Lastly, the Apostle Paul journeyed throughout the Mediterranean world starting churches and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ, building churches and bringing hope to people of various nations, races, and languages.
The Bible ends by picturing a new heaven and earth, reminding us that when this life ends, all life doesn’t end. The journey continues and there are more adventures that wait. There are more adventures that change our spiritual life, that get us closer to following in the footsteps of Jesus. And during this specific season of life, of the year, our spiritual journey leads us to the place where the news given to a virgin named Mary by the angel Gabriel, a dream given to a carpenter named Joseph, and an empty stable and trough filled with hay, changed the world. This Advent Season, we embark on a journey of spiritual change: a journey to a small town known as Bethlehem. But along the way, we will encounter other places that help our spiritual life find the true meaning of Christmas: places such as Rome, Jerusalem, and Nazareth. The planning and preparation, for the anticipation and expectation of the arrival of Jesus, begins today. Are you ready for a journey? Are you ready to travel to Bethlehem? As the old saying goes, the journey is the destination
Each Sunday, we will travel to Bethlehem, making stops along the way. Today, our journey takes us from a controlling Rome to Jerusalem, the city of peace, to Nazareth—a simple town where people asked “How could anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth is the place where Jesus grew up: nothing extravagant, nothing over the top, and nothing like the town of Sepphoris. But, yet this is where Jesus grew up and lived. He lived in the simple town of Nazareth; and in Nazareth, Jesus found joy. We have made it to Nazareth, the city by which begs us to answer the following questions: “Where do we find joy? What brings us joy? And can we find joy in the simple things of life?” Let’s go…
Body:
The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States. Before reaching the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans, the river winds more than 2,300 miles through ten states.[4] Furthermore, the Mississippi River spans several miles in width, and actually gets as wide as eleven miles at one point near Bena, Minnesota.[5] However, at its headwaters at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, the Mississippi River is just a few feet wide. I have been told that you can step across it, and even if you can’t, the water is not much more than ankle deep. A River few people could swim across for much of its length can be spanned in just a few steps at its starting point. What appears insignificant in the beginning becomes the most important waterway in the country.[6]
How about this one? Apple Computer, Inc. was founded on April 1, 1976, by college dropouts Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, who brought to the new company a vision of changing the way people viewed computers. Jobs and Wozniak wanted to make computers small enough for people to have them in their homes or offices. Simply put, they wanted a computer that was user-friendly.[7] Jobs and Wozniak started out building the Apple I in Jobs’ garage and sold them without a monitor, keyboard, or casing (which they decided to add on in 1977).[8]
Over the course of a few years, Apple’s market share suffered slowly after its peak in 1990 and by 1996, experts believed the company to be doomed. It was not until 1997, when Apple was desperately in need of an operating system, that it bought out NeXT Software (Jobs’ company) and the board of directors decided to ask for some help from an old friend. Jobs became an interim CEO, or iCEO as he called himself (Jobs was not officially the CEO until 2000).[9]
The iPhone, a touch screen cellular phone, introduced in 2007 was one of the world’ most successful products and the company has released several new versions since.[10] The popularity of iPhones made Apple the first company valued at one trillion dollars in 2018 and two years later it doubled that figure.[11] From what appeared insignificant in a simple garage became a house hold item for all ages.
Let’s bring this closer to home: John Deere. Born in 1804, John Deere was a talented blacksmith and innovator, known for his plows. The way the story goes, farmers gathered at the farm of Lewis Crandall near Grand Detour, Illinois to witness history. At the time, typical wood and iron plows could not scour in what became the Midwest. Farmers bent over repeatedly to scrape the soil from their moldboards. John Deere had repaired many of their plows, so he knew the materials and the problems. His innovation was a marriage of experience and inspiration, crafting a moldboard from a broken steel saw blade. Both the material and the shape neatly shed the sticky soil and contributed to its success.
He built two plows the following year, followed by 10 more in 1839 as he continued his blacksmithing. Finally, in 1843, an agreement with local businessman Leonard Andrus put Deere firmly into the plow business. Today, after eight logo designs, the company is still leaping into success. As of November 21, 2024, Deere & Company reported a net income of $1.245 billion for the fourth quarter and $7.1 billion for the Fiscal Year. What began as an insignificant plow quickly became significant for millions of farmers around the world.
Today, we find ourselves in an insignificant town during the time of Jesus but significant for us today. What was once small is now something that has a lasting impact on millions of people. Here we are in Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up and lived, and the town that invites us to find joy in the simple things in life.
Movement One: History of Nazareth…
The city of Nazareth is located among rolling hills roughly fifteen miles west of the Sea of Galilee. To the east, just five miles away, is Mount Tabor, the site of Jesus’ Transfiguration. At 1,900 feet, Mount Tabor towers over the fertile vineyards and fields that flourish in this region. When Jesus was a boy, Nazareth would have been incredibly small even at that time. Estimates by historians range from one-hundred to four-hundred people up to fifteen-hundred people living in the town. Nazareth was such an insignificant place that Josephus, a Roman-Jewish historian of the first century, doesn’t even mention Nazareth among the forty-five towns of the Galilee district. Figuratively speaking, Nazareth would have sat in the shadow of a much larger and more notable city called Sepphoris located just a few miles away. Legion has it that while Sepphoris was under construction, Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, could possibly have been one of the carpenters that was working on several projects in the city.[12]
Archaeologists have found remains in the area that go back to prehistoric periods. Civilizations may have formed in this region as early as 9,000 BC. Nazareth gets its name, however, from biblical times. Netzer is the Hebrew word for “branch.” Tradition has it that Nazareth was named for the verse in Isaiah 11:1, “A shoot shall come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (NIV). This verse alludes to the promise of a Messiah that will come from the lineage of King David. Perhaps early Jewish inhabitants gave Nazareth this name in the hope that a Messiah would come from their village one day.[13] But why would a Messiah, a savior, come from such an insignificant town?
The city today is nearing one hundred thousand residents, the largest in its district, and is the biggest Arab city in Israel with a 70 percent Muslim and 30 percent Christian population. Nazareth has become much bigger and much more popular than Sepphoris ever was. Nevertheless, it was a small insignificant town during the time of Jesus. So, where one begins isn’t always an indication of where one ends up, and what appears insignificant can be significant in disguise.[14]
Movement Two: The Value of Nazareth…
Today you would not use words like insignificant, tiny, or obscure to describe the town of Nazareth. As I mentioned earlier, Nazareth has become a large and significant place. As a matter of fact, Nazareth is a bustling city with congested streets, honking horns, bicycles, and tourist buses and construction cranes towering above the dusty hills around the city as housing developments and office buildings continue to be built. Nazareth has become a present day Chicago with all the amenities of life: entertainment, medical resources, educational resources, stores, food venders, etc.
Most of the people who visit Nazareth are Christian pilgrims traveling to see the Church of the Annunciation. The Church of the Annunciation commemorates the site where it is believed the angel Gabriel visited Mary and announced that she was to be the mother of the Savior of the world: “In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God 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. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus…’” (Luke 1:26-31).
The Church of the Annunciation, the place where Mary received the good news, is also the place where fear and confusion and perplexness shown on the face of a young virgin girl who was engaged to be married to Joseph, a possible widower with several children. The Church of the Annunciation is where we realize that a young female will literally be the first person to carry the good news of gospel and where Joseph may have been the first person to doubt this good news. The Church of the Annunciation is the place that provides the feeling that the noise and bustle of the outside is left behind. In this sacred place, one realizes that they are drawing near to a God-inhabited space: one realizes that they are a living sanctuary—“tried and true, pure and holy”; and just like Mary, are invited to carry the good news with them wherever they go.
Nazareth invites us to consider that just because we leave the sanctuary after Sunday worship, doesn’t mean that the sanctuary leaves us. What took place in Nazareth has been marked a beautifully designed and memorable church but what was announced lives within us wherever we go. Even within a growing and developing city, the significance of what conspired in Nazareth is left for us to ponder in our heart.
Now, returning to the greeting extended to Mary by the angel, Gabriel, we must take note that Luke is the only Gospel who records such a greeting: “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” Mary is uncertain what the greeting means, but Gabriel assures her that she has no reason to be afraid. In fact, just the opposite: she should be filled with joy and peace. He says, “You have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (Luke 1:30-31). The suddenness of the greeting and dialogue almost underplays the impact of what is taking place. God is taking on human form in this young girl and Gabriel shares the news without hesitation or even a slight stutter. Mary is not carrying a simple human: she is carrying the incarnation of Christ. Mary is carrying the Word that dwell among us, the bread of life, the good shepherd, the vine, and the light of the world.
This is where the Word became flesh! The translation for “word” comes from the Greek, logos, from which we also get the world logic. John’s Gospel claimed this logic in terms of faith. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” What holds the universe and all of life together is not a nameless philosophy. The Word holds everything together. God holds everything together, just like He holds you together in your doubt, hurt, pain, stress, worry, confusion, and brokenness. Where the Church of the Annunciation lies is the very place where the Word became flesh, the very place that turned a simple, insignificant city, where people asked “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”, to a city of importance and significance. And we are invited to carry this realization, the Word, out into the world just like Mary did.
Movement Three: Why Nazareth – Simplicity…
So, we know what happened in Nazareth. We know that Mary will bring forth a child, the Word, and he will be named Jesus. We know that Nazareth is the place which Gabriel, the angel—the messenger of God—proclaimed to Mary all that Jesus will be: he will be great, he will be called the Son of the Most High, he will be given the throne of his ancestor David, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom will have no end, he will be called the Son of God, and nothing will be impossible for him. And we know that it’s Nazareth by which God showed favor to someone who everyone else saw as insignificant. And this insignificant person responded with what we should be saying every time God calls upon us: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). We know what took place in this small town, but why Nazareth of all places? Why bring forth such life changing news to someone in such a small town that historians didn’t even include on their maps?
I believe God chose Nazareth because it wasn’t like the other cities: it was humble and it was simple and it found a way to deal with certain complexities. Life in Nazareth during the time of Jesus would have been lived at a much slower, less frantic pace. However, people lived under foreign rule. The Romans had been in control for more than half a century. There was also dependence on the weather for resources. The Galilean area can become very dry and arid during long periods of the year, often limiting the ability to grow produce and keep livestock watered and fed. Disease and injury were always a concern. Medical care for such a small village would have been limited. But the people overcame; and how they overcame is why God chose Nazareth.
You see, what people had were each other. These conditions would have raised the level of dependence people place on one another for support and survival. Families would have known each other well and no doubt helped and looked after one another. There would have been a strong sense of security and support, empathy, humility, and curiosity. When life is unhurried, we have time to get to know those we live near so that we build a sense of responsibility for everyone’s well-being. We become more willing to depend on others. The Apostle Paul identifies this idea of coming together as koinonia or in English fellowship. God chose a town not known for what it grows, sells, produces, and what it has access to: God chose a town focused on fellowship, on coming together: sharing with each other, participating with each other, and contributing for each other. God chose a town that echoed the sentiment of Jesus’ mission and message bringing together the least, the lost, and the last.
The act of getting together doesn’t have to be complicated; it can be simple, like Nazareth. I once read about a church, when it came to gathering, created what they called “Simply Gathered.” People from the church signed up to host a meal and someone would sign up under that person’s name, and together they would gather together and talk and catch up. Two weeks later, the church offered it again. The church came together because of those simple meals: it became a Nazareth where Jesus was present. It became the mission of the church to fellowship together: to share, participate, and contribute to the one sitting on the other side of the table.
Church, are we a Nazareth? Are we a place where we allow the good news to grow and live? Are we a place where fellowship is part of our DNA? Are we a church that works with what God gives us? Are we a church where people can come to not battle the complexities of the world but to embrace the simplicity and pureness of Christ’s love? God chose Nazareth because He wanted all of us to witness how something simple and insignificant can change our lives. Even in the simple and insignificant, God is present.
As I was thinking about Nazareth this past week and the idea of simplicity, I found myself reflecting on a past memory. Several years ago, I took my nephew Daltyn, who was about three or four at the time, to a festival known as “The Festival of Trees.” This festival provides an opportunity for local businesses and individuals to decorate Christmas trees, put them on display, and the best decorated Christmas tree gets a prize. We walked and we walked and we walked, looking at every single Christmas tree imaginable. But there was one tree that caught my nephew’s eye. (And it wasn’t really a tree at all.)
The tree that caught my nephew’s eye was a tree decorated in construction signs, tractors, and cones. As he stood in front of that tree, his eyes became wide and a smile crept across his face. My nephew found joy in a simple construction themed Christmas tree, that wasn’t really a tree at all: it was green, it didn’t have homemade ornaments hanging on every branch, and it looked nothing like the tree he had in his living room. He wasn’t interested in the trees that had flashing lights, the tress that were four times his size, the trees that were covered in garland and tinsel. No, he was interested in a simple construction themed Christmas tree.
Friends, even in simple things there is significance. Even in the simple things of life there is joy. We lit the candle of joy today not because we are missing joy in our life and not because we forgot that it is down in our heart (where?); we lit the candle of joy today to remind ourselves to notice the simple things in our life that bring us joy and that remind us of the significant things that God has placed in our life. Even with perplexing news, Mary found joy: she sang, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” (Luke 1:46-50). Can we do the same thing?
So, why Nazareth? Because God needed us to recognize the power of coming together and how the simple things in our life, what makes us who we are, and how what others see as insignificant God sees as significant.
Conclusion:
We live in a time when access to information has become close to addictive. The need to gain more and better data becomes overwhelming and even paralyzing. We seek to cross the Mississippi River at its widest spot, we seek to develop the next best technology, and we seek to create the world’s best plow instead of spending time enjoying the simple things in life before they are all gone.
We all need a Nazareth where we can simplify, reduce distractions, and be free to think, contemplate, listen, experience joy, and remind ourselves that we are carriers of the good news. We need those places where we can listen to God, where we are open to the possibility of interruption and intrusion, where God can break in and get our attention and say, “Greetings, favored one!” Perhaps your Nazareth looks like a closet in the house, or a chair in the yard, or a park bench, or a table at the library, or in your craft room, or in the garage or shed, or perhaps a pew in an empty sanctuary.
God chose Nazareth, God chose Mary, and God chose Joseph because simplicity, love, fellowship, and joy can be found there and in them. God chose you because He knows that you have what is needed to bring joy to His people. God chose the insignificant to do extraordinary and significant things. Where one begins isn’t always an indication of where one ends up, and what appears insignificant can be significant in disguise.
Friends, do you have a Nazareth where life can slow down, quiet down, and give you time to look at a Christmas tree? Church, are we a Nazareth? Are we a place where we allow the good news to grow and live? Are we a place where fellowship is part of our DNA? Are we a church where people can come to not battle the complexities of the world but to embrace the simplicity and pureness of Christ’s love? Nazareth is not just some town: it is the town where the good news was received, where Jesus lived and grew up, where something good came from, and where God invites us to embrace the simple things in life. In Nazareth, you went from insignificant to being someone significant.
Let it be so…
Closing Prayer:
Let us pray: Dear God, allow us moments to embrace joy this season. Grant us opportunities to witness the significance in the insignificance. And open our heart to see the impact of how you are working in our lives. In your Son’s name we pray. Amen.
Benediction:
Where is your Nazareth? Where are you allowing God to meet you? Where are you finding time to embrace the joy of the season? May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go forth anticipated and expecting the birth of Jesus Christ. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.
[1] https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/christmas-travel-air-roads-november-december
[2] https://www.foxweather.com/lifestyle/christmas-travel-air-roads-november-december
[3] https://www.kfvs12.com/2024/11/21/expect-another-busy-holiday-travel-season
[4] Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana on the west & Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi on the east; Now, to keep things in perspective, the Mississippi River is not the longest river in the world: that is the Nile River at 4,130 miles and then the second longest river is the Amazon River at 3,977 miles. However, it is the longest river in the United States.
[5]https://www.nps.gov/miss/riverfacts.htm#:~:text=The%20widest%20part%20of%20the,is%20approximately%202%20miles%20wide.
[6] Rob Fuquay, On the Way to Bethlehem: An Advent Study, Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, pg. 60.
[7] Ann Brashares, Steve Jobs Thinks Different. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. pp. 15-16.
[8] Ann Brashares, Steve Jobs Thinks Different. Brookfield, CT: Twenty-First Century Books, 2001. pg. 21. The Apple II revolutionized the computer industry with the introduction of the first-ever color graphics. Sales jumped from $7.8 million in 1978 to $117 million in 1980, the year Apple went public
[9] Jobs decided to make some changes around Apple. He forged an alliance with Microsoft to create a Mac version of its popular office software.
[10] Not long after the announcement of iPhone and Apple TV, the company dropped “Computer” from its name to become “Apple Inc.,” indicating that it is about more than just computers. Steve Jobs died October 5, 2011, but Apple continues on with his legacy with Tim Cook at the helm as the CEO.
[11] Apple Inc. External Fort Mill: Mergent, 2020.
[12] Rob Fuquay, On the Way to Bethlehem: An Advent Study, Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, pg. 57-58.
[13] Rob Fuquay, On the Way to Bethlehem: An Advent Study, Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, pg. 57.
[14] Rob Fuquay, On the Way to Bethlehem: An Advent Study, Nashville, TN: The United Methodist Publishing House, pg. 58 & 61.
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