Chapter 4 - Nazareth

Jesus Increased In Wisdom and in Years

“In the messy and beautiful physical realities of the human person, in the craziness and sublimity of family life, and in the toil and satisfaction of the working life, Jesus knew the world.”  Messy and beautiful, crazy and sublime, toil and satisfaction, doesn’t that sum up the ordinary lives of us all?  Yes we all know, in faith, that the man “Jesus” that walked the earth 2000 years ago was and is God, but I think we sometimes fail to grasp that he truly was human, one with us in all ways except sin.  Perhaps the reason we have difficulty with understanding that, is because there is very little written about the ordinary human life Jesus lived in Nazareth, after his dramatic entrance into mankind, until the start of his public ministry beginning around age 30.  However, I believe Scripture does not share this with us because the ordinary or hidden life of Jesus was unique for Him, just as our ordinary lives are each unique for us but ultimately lead each of us on a path to holiness and our own salvation.

Although Jesus’ childhood, adolescence and early adulthood are obscure and unknown it can be surmised that those years were filled with life experiences that prepared Him for His ultimate mission.  As it is for us as well, it’s precisely in our ordinary, commonplace, uneventful lives that we are prepared and groomed to do God’s work in and among the lives of the people we encounter on a daily basis.  Jesus was able to minister to the people and understood the pains, struggles and joys of life because he lived and experienced them himself. 

During Jesus’ hidden life he was the clay in the potter’s hand, just as we all are.  Everything that happens to us throughout our lives good and bad, sensational and ordinary, God uses to achieve the masterpiece He desires to accomplish in our souls to ultimately bring us to eternal life with Him in Heaven.

1. If you look back on your life can you see how God has been at work leading you to where you are now?
2. Jesus lived an ordinary life in Nazareth for (roughly) thirty years, in large part working as a tekton.  How does his work life and occupation influence your understanding of him?
3. What to you was the most surprising aspect of the description of daily life in Nazareth?
4. How do you see God working in your daily life today drawing you to an even deeper relationship with Him?

Lucy Premus

Dear Readers,

Here are some ways to participate in our online discussion.

1. Simply get the book and read along.  To enhance your reading, reflections on each chapter together with discussion questions are posted on this blog every Sunday morning.  If you fall behind, all chapters/reflections are archived on the main page.  
2. Actively participate! Read along and then discuss the chapter by leaving comments below.  We encourage this.  
3. If you enjoy the book and our reflections/discussion, please evangelize by telling others about the book and our site. Thanks for stopping by!

Chapter 3 - Bethlehem

She Gave Birth to Her Firstborn Son

Fr. Martin and his traveling companion Fr. George begin the next phase of their pilgrimage with a half hour bus ride from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  Then a local cab driver shepherds them around the various sites on their to-do list as well as one that they never heard of.  Such is the adventurous nature of travel.  The off itinerary stops and contact with the local residents are often the most rewarding experiences.  Fr. Martin comments that the visit to the Church of the Nativity, venerated for millennia as the site of Jesus’ birth, left him disappointed in that the crowd of tourists left him unable to enter into any meaningful prayer.  A problem solved by the peace and solitude at his next unexpected stop.

In the course of this short chapter on Bethlehem Fr. Martin offers us two useful meditations.  The physical constraint of the doorway requires that one enter the Church of the Nativity on one’s knees.  This leads him to a reflection on the value of humility in our spiritual lives.  His thoughts echo the ancient desert masters from the first centuries of Christianity.  Those holy men and women considered humility as the mother of all Christian virtues. Fr. Martin reminds us of the fundamental grace of salvation history, God’s taking on our humanity so that we might have a share in his divinity.

His second reflection centers on the persons of Mary and Joseph as human beings who love and trust in God and each other, but were likely to still be confused and fearful of an unknown future.  There is much here for each of us to think about, especially those of us who are parents, in Fr. Martin’s speculative meditation on Mary and Joseph.

Questions to Ponder

1. How have we responded to fear and confusion in our lives?  Are we comfortable in putting our trust in God or is it something we need to constantly work on?

2. A truly humble person is one who is proud of the gifts God has given them and recognizes that they are to be put in the service of others.  They also recognize the God given gifts, talents and dignity of others as being equal to their own.  How can reflecting on the hidden life of Jesus, Mary and Joseph help us grow in the proper understanding of the Virtue of Humility?

3. Fr. Martin comments that others had advised him that a trip to Bethlehem might be too dangerous, that he should skip this place.  He rejects that advice knowing that he needs to go to Bethlehem and is reward by the experience.  How often have we listened to others and missed opportunities for spiritual growth instead of listening to ourselves and responding to our own needs?

Deacon Michael McKenna

Rick Steeves visits modern-day Bethlehem

Dear Readers,

Here are some ways to participate in our online discussion.

1. Simply get the book and read along.  To enhance your reading, reflections on each chapter together with discussion questions are posted on this blog every Sunday morning.  If you fall behind, all chapters/reflections are archived on the main page.  
2. Actively participate! Read along and then discuss the chapter by leaving comments below.  We encourage this.  
3. If you enjoy the book and our reflections/discussion, please evangelize by telling others about the book and our site. Thanks for stopping by!

Chapter 2 - Yes!

How Can This Be?

The entrance of “The Divine” into humanity begins in what was considered back then to be an obscure, backwater, “insignificant hamlet” - the town of Nazareth.  No, this is not where Jesus was born, but rather it’s where He was conceived.  The Angel Gabriel came to a young girl named Mary and addresses her with the words “Hail, full of grace”.  This moment in history is known as “The Annunciation”.  The message Gabriel has come to deliver is that she will bear a son.  Her only question to such an inconceivable (no pun intended) message is “How can this be?”  The Angel tells her what will happen and then the Angel left her.

Now Mary is left to ponder what all of this means.  Not only is she going to have a baby, out of wedlock, but this baby is the Son of God.

However, Mary is not the only one in history to be called by God to bring Jesus into the world.  Truth be told, we all are.   We all experience our own “annunciations” every day.  We are all called to bring Jesus into this world, but each of our annunciations is different and unique to us and who God is calling us to be.  We all have our “angels” so to speak and they could come to us in varied and unexpected ways – other people, Scripture/inspirational writings, art, nature and so on.  It’s up to us to open our hearts and minds and respond to the call as Mary did, even in our fears and doubts and feelings of unworthiness.  We must remember “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called” - Mother Teresa

Mary says “yes” to God and to a future she does not know.  Why, because she has faith and trusts in what God has already done in her life and in the lives of her people.  God calls each of us to have that same trust.   Will you?

Questions to Ponder:

1.  . The main focus of this chapter is about trust.  Mary’s trust in saying yes to an incredible request that is going to lead her on a journey beyond anything she ever could have ever imagined.  Can you recall a time in your life when you said “yes” to God not really knowing what it would mean or where it would take you? 

2. What were you feeling at the time, peace or angst in your decision? What was the outcome?

3.  Mary is being "recovered" in this chapter not only as the "Blessed Mother" but also as Miriam of Nazareth, a young woman living in a backwater town.  Is it easier for you to relate to the "Mother of God" or to the poor woman in Nazareth?

Lucy Premus



Here is a  YouTube video from modern day Nazareth:

Check back next Sunday for Chapter 3, "Bethlehem."

Dear Readers,

Here are some ways to participate in our online discussion.

1. Simply get the book and read along.  To enhance your reading, reflections on each chapter together with discussion questions are posted on this blog every Sunday morning.  If you fall behind, all chapters/reflections are archived on the main page.  
2. Actively participate! Read along and then discuss the chapter by leaving comments below.  We encourage this.  
3. If you enjoy the book and our reflections/discussion, please evangelize by telling others about the book and our site. Thanks for stopping by!

Chapter 1: Pilgrims

Father Martin begins his book with an interesting confession:  initially he did not see the value of making a pilgrimage to the holy land in order to write his book about Jesus.  As a reader, and as a would be pilgrim, I find the author’s honesty and transparency refreshing.  After all, I am reading this book because I have yet to make that (literal) pilgrimage to the holy land.  I, too, have had my own reservations over the years.

Father Martin’s reluctance to visit the holy land had to do with not wanting to spoil the image he had created over the years through study, prayer and meditation.  He writes, “I already ‘knew’ what Bethlehem, Nazareth, Jerusalem and the Sea of Galilee looked like, because I had imagined those locales so often.  We feared that laying eyes on locales overrun with tourists would sully our pristine mental pictures” (page 16).

I remember harboring similar fears the first time I made a pilgrimage to Rome.  I approached the trip with a mixture of excitement and the fear of being disappointed.  To my soul’s delight, I found that my fears were unfounded as I stood in the scavi, several stories beneath St. Peter’s Basilica, and gazed upon the first century cemetery where we believe St. Peter is entombed.  I had waited years to be there and instead of being disappointed I was moved beyond measure.

Ultimately, encouraged by a good friend, Father Martin changes his mind and plans his trip. Wisely, he decides to go in the company of a friend.

Fr. Martin at the Sea of Galilee

How would you define a pilgrimage?  Someone I know recently defined a pilgrimage as “our journey from Earth to Heaven.” Others see it as a kind of purposeful wandering, a walk, a journey toward a holy place or goal.

I confess, when I was younger, I was more focused on arriving (quickly) at the destination.  Now, as I’m a bit older, I find that the journey itself is of equal importance.

Questions to Ponder

1. Can you relate to Father Martin’s initial reluctance to make his pilgrimage to the holy land?
2. Have you ever made a pilgrimage to a holy place?  What was the most memorable part of your experience?  Did you encounter God there?
3. What do you most hope to discover as you journey through this book?  How do you hope to encounter Jesus?

Don't forget to return next Sunday as we read Chapter 2, "Yes."

Steven Olson

Here is an interview with Father Martin about the book.