Nazareth
Article I in the 2023 Advent Devotionals series
Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. (John 1:45-46)
As Advent begins, it is all too common for us to become wrapped up in the glitz and glamor of the Christmas season. Our time is consumed by our plans for the season as we frantically try to make time for visiting family, attending Christmas parties with friends, or going caroling with our small group. However, these big plans, while not necessarily bad things themselves, can often lead us to overlooking the little ways that Christ seeks to speak into our lives.
Throughout the entirety of the Biblical narrative, God routinely used unexpected or humble messengers to convey His love to His people. God used a bush to communicate with Moses; He used a man with a speech impediment to be His mouthpiece in freeing His people from slavery; He spoke through the mouth of a donkey to Balaam. In the book of Judges, He used people like Gideon and Deborah who were looked down upon in society. He called Jeremiah to be a prophet while he was still just a child. Finally, He raised up His own Son as a savior for the world from a little known and much scorned town in Galilee: Nazareth.
In the midst of our Christmastime plans and the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we ought to take a moment to consider the lessons that can be learned from the role that Nazareth plays in the Advent story and in Jesus’ ministry. At the time of Jesus’ birth Nazareth was a small, ordinary town in Galilee—a province which was itself looked down upon. In fact, we see people blatantly question, “Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46) when referring to Nazareth. Despite these seeming disadvantages, Nazareth is where God chose to bring His Son and humanity’s Salvation into this world. This ought to serve as a reminder to us in this Advent season that God often reveals Himself and His extraordinary and unexpected beauty in the mundane aspects of life.
I believe that we should strive to remember Nazareth through this season, as we face the temptation to focus solely on our big plans or glamorous parties. We should allow Nazareth to be a reminder of the necessity of taking some time for the ordinary in the midst of the flurry of activity surrounding Christmastime. I urge you to take time to escape the constant plans and instead look for God’s majesty in the small and overlooked details around you. It is essential to take time in this Christmas to look for value and to search for Christ in the mundane aspects of our everyday lives.
As we consider Christ’s arrival on Earth and seek to draw closer to Him in this season, let's try to remember how He first approached us. Perhaps, if we truly desire to draw close to Him this Advent season, we will find choosing to savor the small, quiet moments of life helpful in finding connection with Jesus.