Place Jesus Born!

When we first told Asha we would be going to Israel, we explained that it was the place where Jesus was born and spent his life. She was so excited to go to the "place Jesus born!" and our entire trip she would point to a building and say with confident excitement, "Jesus born...right THERE!"

Well we never did make it to Bethlehem, but we did get to visit Jesus's home town of Nazareth. One of my favorite memories of our trip is from the church there commemorating the annunciation of Mary. It is a modern building that incorporates structures from previous eras and includes an active archeological site. Along the walls of the church are a series of mosaics of Mary and Jesus contributed from all over the world, each with utterly different style and texture and flavor. I loved the creative, multicultural family of Christ that it portrayed. And the service that was currently being held inside when we walked in happened to be an all Indian congregation! It was so beautifully Messianic...that He would be a light to the whole world, drawing people from all nations to worship the God who had revealed Himself to and through Israel. Who else but Jesus could bring fulfillment to this prophecy?





As we left the church, the sun was just about to set and the clouds and colors were glorious: