Day 4 - Nazareth and Ordination

Saturday, September 9

Today was the day of the ordination! Since the ordination was an evening event, we still had time to fit in some sightseeing in the morning. All of the delicious Israeli food we’ve been eating got the best of Carol, so she took the morning to rest and recuperate. [Carol: I think it actually had more to do with me forgetting to take my blood pressure pill!]

Awesome Matt took regular Matt and Lauren to breakfast in Nazareth with Saleem and Andera. Breakfast was beans and more beans -- three types of hummus with pickles, onions, French fries, and tomatoes -- so it’s probably best that Carol stayed back. This little eatery was on a side street in Nazareth and we seemed to be the only Westerners in the establishment. Needless to say, it was delicious and felt like a truly authentic cultural experience.

Nazareth is the largest Arab city in Israel, with about 30% Christian and 70% Muslim. As the Biblical home of Jesus, it includes many beautiful and fascinating Christian cultural sites. Interestingly, it is also the cultural, political, economic, and social hub of Arab Israeli life—sometimes called the “Arab capital of Israel.” Saleem and Andera are Nazareth natives, so Awesome Saleem acted as our tour guide for this portion of our trip. Saleem and Andera took us to the top of Mount Precipice where we could see the entire city of Nazareth, the Armageddon Valley, and Mt. Tabor, believed to be the site of Jesus' transfiguration.

Saleem shows Matt Armageddon.

Matt stands in front of the modern city of Nazareth.

After we saw Nazareth from above, we journeyed into the heart of the Old City — the site of Biblical Nazareth. We visited the Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation built above the ancient ruins traditionally recognized as Mary’s home in Nazareth. The Greek Orthodox also claim a Church of the Annunciation, which is built over an ancient Nazarene well that Mary may have used. The well is still operational so Lauren was able to fill her water bottle with the Living Water Jesus may have drunk. So cool!

The ruins of ancient Nazareth

Awesome Saleem, having grown up in Old City Nazareth, spent a lot of time in the shops of the Old City as a child, so he showed us around the winding streets and introduced us to friends and family. He seemed to know someone at every turn. His early childhood was spent living in the Eastern Orthodox Christian section of the city and exploring the Old City where his family owned shops.

The Old City of Nazareth used to be the heart of the city in the 19th and 20th centuries but declined over the last couple of decades. Luckily, life has slowly been returning to this historical area through the investment of small business owners bringing back small shops along the path. Saleem’s grandfather once had a hardware store in the Old City, so he took us to the site which now functions as a hand-crafted souvenir store and coffee shop. His grandfather’s desk was still there. We had a lovely chat with the owner of the souvenir shop, bought some items, and she presented Saleem with a piece of artwork his uncle had made and left behind in the store she now rented. Interestingly enough, this piece of artwork was made while his uncle served 2 years in Israeli prison for being falsely accused of a political crime.

Once we had sufficiently walked off our hummus, CHLF team members Rose and Elias hosted us for another spectacular lunch. I think we would explode if not for our constant walks in +100 degree heat. We ate and ate and ate until it was time to prepare for the ordination.

In our American minds, a pastoral ordination is a significant but small event -- something like a prayer and a few words tacked onto a regular Sunday service. Not so in Galilee. Arab evangelical ordinations are as big as weddings. Over 300 people were invited to the ordination. It was a fully catered event with extensive decorations, a ginormous buffet, an espresso station, and a full dessert station. Awesome Matt read a complicated scripture passage in Arabic, which is a tremendous feat for a non-native speaker. Regular Matt said a blessing over the newly ordained minister, after which we ate the night away yet again. Definitely a night to remember (and the main reason we three got to travel here)!