Mary of Nazareth

I am privileged to be a member of a church that sponsored a showing of the new movie "Mary of Nazareth" in our town.  It was one of only two showings in our entire state!  What a great Christmas gift for the people in my area!  The theater was sold out and I sat in joyful anticipation with my family.

May of Nazareth did not disappoint!  If you have a chance to view it, I would highly suggest it!

I try to never miss a chance to see a movie version of any of the stories from the Bible.  Even if I don't agree with the way the director and actors have depicted various events or people, I can almost always glean something spiritual from watching.  Sometimes a lot, sometimes just one little nugget, but I believe God is pleased with this attempt to tell the story of the Mother of His Son. 

The actress who played Mary (Alissa Jung) did a fantastic job!

Mary's faithful "yes" throughout the entire movie is spectacular!  At various different times she will frown in confusion, and then smile the most lovely and peaceful smile!  She trusts God to take care of things however He wishes and she just accepts whatever is happening as His will!!  It is beautiful!!!


I was overjoyed to see the Annunciation scene was set having Mary in a downstairs room making bread when the Angel Gabriel arrives. She stands and backs up in surprise - right into a small stairway!  A lot like the one I was fascinated with when I visited the Grotto of the Annunciation!  I have to say it really made my heart sing as I sat in the theater!!!  It made both the movie and my visit and the real event all connect for me!

Grotto of the Annunciation - Nazareth, Israel

When Mary is perplexed at the Angels' news, she leans back into the staircase for support for a moment before smiling that serene smile and telling the Angel that she is the "Handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to God's Will" - I loved it!

Mary never waivers in her faith from that moment on.  She might be puzzled a moment, but she trusts God completely and continually assures others that all will work out according to Gods' Will.

One scene that really stands out in my mind is the way they portrayed Mary's Magnificat.  All the movies I have ever seen have Mary standing and mono-logging the prayer to Elizabeth.  But in this depiction, when she arrives in Ain Karim (or Ein Karem) to see Elizabeth and begins to share her news, she is very happy and goes joyfully from one person to another - all around the room with excitement and smiles - happily delivering her news!

For the first time ever, I understood why it's called the "Song of Mary"!! 


One scene which really opened my mind was when Jesus is preaching and someone in the crowd says that his mother and brothers are outside.  

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him.

(Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.")

But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

 Matthew 12:46-49

Jesus barely hesitates before announcing that "who are my brothers?  Who is my mother?".  I never understood that, but after watching it in the movie, it made total sense to me!!  Yes - no one is more special to Jesus/God than anyone else!  He loves us all equally!  He wants salvation for us all equally!

Although the others in the scene get upset, Mary totally gets it.  She looks hurt at first, but then she understands.  She tells the others that he is correct.  Of course, the other family members are all scandalized and want to leave, but Mary insists on going in and sitting amongst the followers and listening to Jesus talk.  Jesus shares a look with her, and she smiles her understanding and he smiles back. 

The others try to talk her into leaving (Jesus has just disowned her in front of everyone!) and she says she's going to him because he is "My Lord"...WOW!!  So powerful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Another scene I identified with was the evening of the Last Supper, right before they began.  Mary and Jesus have a conversation in the courtyard outside the Upper Room and it is very much like the   Cenacle which I visited on Mt. Zion.

The Upper Room (Cenacle) - Mt. Zion outside Jerusalem, Israel

I know that there is no Biblical reference to this scene, but I enjoyed it thinking that Jesus and Mary did enjoy many private moments together as Mother and Son, despite His public ministry (above).  As the mother of a grown son with his own life, I know these are precious times to be cherished, which I'm sure Mary did.

I personally only have one scene I did not like, and that was during the scourging of Jesus.  Although Mary was not present at the beating, in this movie she experienced each lash - falling to the ground in physical pain.

This is also not Biblical and I don't agree with the poetic license in this case.  I felt like it took away from the suffering Jesus did for us to have Mary experience his pain physically!  Our Mother would never want us to turn our eyes away from what Jesus did for us!  In fact, I believe she is mortified if anyone aligns her grief and heartbreak at His death with any of the suffering He did to save us.   It was just an unnecessary addition to the movie in my opinion.

The movie ends when Mary sees her risen Son and that smile, that grace-filled look of understanding and joy.  A perfect way to end such a wonderful movie experience!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Mary of Nazareth and would recommend it to anyone, of any faith!

Dormition Abbey's Mystery Painting

ADVENT

I love this painting!!

Just look at them. They are so joyful! They are so happy!

When I got home and was looking at my pictures, this one was between two different places I visited and I couldn't remember where it was taken! Egads!!!! Was it the last picture I took here, or the first picture I took there...???

So I began to search. And I guess no one else was as enchanted with it as I was, because several days on Google (and I'm a pretty good searcher!) only turned up one single photo of it. The photo was labeled "Lower Chapel in the the Basilica of Dormition".

So at least I wasn't nuts! And I was able to concentrate my search. But I am still baffled! I cannot find out anything about it. I was most surprised that the brochure I got at the Basilica did not mention it. Although it did mention every single other side altar in the Chapel and the Crypt, the only thing I can find that even begins to match my memory is the statement "The first two altars on the northern wall have no particular design so far..." I can only guess that the brochure is from before this painting was done, and it's just temporary until another altar mosaic is installed! Heaven forbid!! !!!

The Dormition Abbey has been renamed the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey. I've also seen it called the Basilica of Dormition and Church of the Dormition. So good luck if you are trying to find it on Google! LOL!

But just look at Mary and Elizabeth in this painting.

They were kin. Some references say kinswoman. So they knew each other, were related. Maybe they didn't see each other often since they lived in different towns. My goodness, it was approximately 100 miles from Nazareth to Ein Kerem! Maybe that made any time the were together that much sweeter. They loved each other and enjoyed being together. Even though Elizabeth was much older than Mary, they were friends.

Now Mary finds out from the Angel Gabriel that she is to bare the Savior, the Messiah! Wow! She must have been elated!!

Mary also knows that her beloved relative Elizabeth is also pregnant, has been blessed with a miracle!

"She sent with haste to a Judian town in the hill country". Lk. 1:39. With haste. She is going quickly to Elizabeth. She is overjoyed at her news and wants to share it with her friend, her kinswoman. Plus, she is so happy for Elizabeth to have conceived in her old age! Maybe she is just twitching with excitement! Oh the miles must have seemed endless as Mary made her way to Ein Kerem to see her!

There, in the distance! She sees Zacharia's house! Does her step quicken? Does her heart? Is she becoming breathless with her excitement?

And then there is Elizabeth, calmly going about her daily routine. She has no idea Mary is on her way. No email, no phone, no letter. She doesn't know her young family member is so close!

The news of her pregnancy is no longer a shock to her or Zacharia, but at 6 months pregnant she is never without a constant reminder of the miracle! Other mothers know, the width of your stomach out in front, bumping into things, making your clothes tight, catching every spill! The pressure on your back at night, on your bladder all the time, the new always-tired feeling. At 6 months, she can already feel his movement.

And she knows her baby is a boy! Stop and think how astounding that was 2000 years ago!!! It's a boy, and his name is John. She is secure in that knowledge because her faith is great.

And like any woman who carries a baby, especially a first-time mother of her extraordinary circumstances, she must bask in her pregnancy. Just revel in every little change to her body. She basks in it; wears the knowing smile of having a delightful secret. Being in constant touch with an invisible visitor that only she can hear and feel, only she is aware of.

Maybe she is sweeping or grinding something or sewing...maybe doing her daily work a bit mindlessly, daydreaming about her baby, maybe humming to herself and to John. Does she stop now and then to rub her belly? Even in her old age, I'll bet she has no complaints for any backaches or fatigue. She doesn't care because her dream of having a baby is coming true! Her prayers have been answered! Any discomfort will be brushed aside as nothing compared to the ache of an empty womb. She is the miracle of motherhood.

Then, Elizabeth hears something, a visitor! And she recognizes Mary's voice immediately and her heart leaps with joy -no wait -it's the baby!! And Elizabeth has full immediate knowledge! Mary will bare the Messiah! Little Mary is to be the mother of the Savior of Israel! The answer to thousands of years of prayers of her people! The time has come and a Deliverer is on the way! Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and with happiness and joy!

She grabs Mary in a loving embrace and blesses Mary! With just a few words from Elizabeth, Mary knows that she understands and believes. The two of them - how blessed they are, and they both know and acknowledge it! They both realize that they are part of God's salvation of their people - their embrace, their hug, their touch conveys so much! The love in their eyes for each other! Is that a tear?

I sat under this painting and I felt such joy! I could not stop smiling!! On my trip we rarely had time to stop to enjoy the site we were visiting. But this time, in this place, we did get a few minutes. The colors, the expressions on their faces...it was just awesome - and I knew it! I knew I was feeling something special and wonderful!

I wanted to stay, to sit, to meditate. I wanted to just look at the beautiful mosaic which was effecting me and just smile.

All the times I had hungered for a spiritual experience! And I knew I was having one, I knew I was touching something special!! I was aware of the wonderfulness of it while it was happening.

I smile now just remembering, just looking at the photo. And see that girl in the corner peeking through the door? I'm going to claim that is me. Watching. Smiling.

I will forever love this image of Mary & Elizabeth, I will never forget.

Thank you God for allowing me to feel your presence in my mind this day.  Thank you Jesus for allowing your Mother to smile down on my heart this day.  Thank you Holy Spirit for allowing me to feel your essence in the lasting effects in my soul, still today.  Amen.


**Update:  Mom thinks this lovely painting is the layout for a future mosaic.  I hope she is right!!!!  The this beautiful image will be here forever for everyone to fall in love with as I did!

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 9

 

Ein Karem in Judea

ADVENT   Luke 1:5-25

Ein Karem, which means "Spring of the Vineyard" in Hebrew, is the birthplace of Saint John the Baptist.

There a a couple of sites here of interest to Christians, two of which are the summer and winter homes of Zachariah and Elizabeth, St. John's parents. The Chapel of St. John the Baptist is the site of their winter home.

The walk up to the entrance of the churchyard at the Chapel has many "distractions" on both the left and right! I was good going up, but coming back down I bought rosaries made of rosewood and scented with rosemary.

  

The vendors stop at the gate which opens up into a good-sized courtyard with the entrance to the church.

 

I really loved this church! As you can see it is covered in blue and white tile and is just lovely!

 

I am a blue-and-white girl myself (as anyone who has ever been in my kitchen knows!) so I was really enchanted with the inside decor of this chapel.

I could have spent some time there just sitting and taking it all in. It had a happy, cheerful feeling to it. I don't know if that is how everyone feels, or just me because the blue-and-white had such a comforting feel to it which appealed to me. Maybe it was because this was at the end of our trip and I was unconsciously identifying with the sense of home it gave me? 
 

But as you see in the photo, there was another pilgrim group there holding Mass, so we quietly skirted around the inside edges of the church trying to be inconspicuous and didn't stay inside the sanctuary long.

Under the "modern" church, which was built in 1674, is a grotto where the actual birthplace of St. John the Baptist is. It is in a cave below the altar of the upper church.

We were allowed to go beneath the altar and venerate the spot as Mom is doing in this photo by praying at the site.

I actually had to do some research when I returned home to keep this all straight in my mind. (I'm sure our very-informative guide Hill-el explained it, but there were many times when I either couldn't hear him, or in his defense, was running my mouth to Mom or wandering off taking pictures.)

So from what I understand, Zachariah was one of many Jewish priests spread throughout the area to serve the people. He served in his little home-town where he lived with his wife. Maybe he had lots of time to devote since they had no children? In any case, every now and then, the priests would be called to go serve the big, main temple in Jerusalem. They would go there and serve for a week or two...sounds like a good plan to me.

Of all the priests only one would be chosen to enter the Holy of Holies. The inner sanctuary in the Temple in Jerusalem was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and was called the Holy of Holies. As everyone who's ever seen an Indian Jones movie knows, The Ark of the Covenant contained the Ten Commandments, which were given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

The priests "drew lots" for the honor of entering the inner sanctuary, as they felt like this was the way to let God choose who entered. This must have been HUGE to them! I can imagine that having priests coming from all around the nation for such a holy event and getting chosen from the group! Wow, I can see where this might have never happened in someone's lifetime!! How unbelievably blessed Zachariah must have felt!

So the moment has come - I can maybe identify a little with how he felt. I was so blessed to visit so many holy sites and touch and kiss them. The feeling immediately beforehand is almost indescribable. There is such a feeling of longing and anticipation for meeting the spiritual, it's wonderful and exciting and stressful and anxiety-causing all at the same time!

Zachariah carries the incense and slowly enters the revered sanctuary where God resided.  
 

We know from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 1:5-25) that an angel comes to him. It's the annunciation to Zachariah of St. John the Baptist's coming. Elizabeth is wife will bare him a son.

Fast forward 6 months. The Angel Gabriel appears to a virgin, Mary, and announces the coming of Jesus the Messiah. (Lk 1:26-38).

Zacharia says to Gabriel "How will I know this is so? For I am an old man and my wife is getting on in year." We all know that Zacharias didn't believe and was struck mute.

Mary says to Gabriel "How can this be since I am a virgin?" But Gabriel does not punish her, he just explains.

Hmmmmmm.

So I am thinking about this. I don't understand the difference. Why is Zachariah considered an unbeliever? It's confusing and really kinda scary!

These two people both receive confusing and miraculous news. And to me, they responded almost identically. So why the difference in response?

Mary follows her explanation with "Let it be done to me according to your will." Maybe Zachariah would have also come around with a similar statement if he could talk? Or maybe he has little faith. What is the deal here? There is obviously a difference.

What if God calls me? What if I don't respond correctly? I want to be like Mary, I want to please God with my reaction! I certainly don't want to be like Zachariah.

What requests do I receive from God each day? How am I am responding?

If an angel showed up right this second, what would I do? How would I act? Am I ready for something like that? Would I have doubts? Would I be brave? Would I freak out?

Maybe Zachariah was expected to respond differently because he was a priest. He was, after all, inside the Holy of Holies. He was not caught off guard, he knew he was in the sanctuary where God was. Maybe God expected a more rapid and total belief from one who was suppose to be in the midst of deep prayer performing a very reverence act of faith as it was.

Mary was at her house. Maybe she was performing some mundane household chore. Going about her normal daily activities. Was her heart closer to God in her everyday life than a priest performing a hallowed deed?

The Bible says she was "perplexed". The Bible says Zachariah was "terrified and fear overwhelmed him". There is definitely a difference in those reactions.

Mary was young. Zachariah was old. Does our time living on this earth move us towards the skeptical as we age? Towards unbelief in the supernatural? Does the millions of interactions and experiences and worldly knowledge of our years cause us to lean towards doubt? Or was Mary's inexperience taken into consideration when she first questioned?

The saying "With greater power comes greater responsibility". I see examples of this in life all the time.

Zachariah was eventually give his voice back at the birth of his son. And when he could speak, he certainly did have marvelous and convicted words to say!

Oh Lord I pray that I will always answer with a resounding "YES" to you!  Let me please have the faith and fortitude to respond within your will.  I hope and pray in any event where you are speaking to me, I am not so shocked-amazed-confused-afraid that I react in a way that saddens you.  No matter if I am sitting in your holy presence in adoration of you or feeding the dog, Let me never disappoint you God!  Amen.

2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 9