Today we call Jesus by many names: Messiah, Lord, Good Shepherd, Emmanuel, the Bread of Life, Teacher, as well as many other titles found in the New Testament and liturgical writing. Rarely, if ever, do we refer to Jesus as a Nazorean. Yet this is the title He was known by early in His life.
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, “He will be called a Nazorean.” (Mt 2:19-23)
We are told Joseph listened to the angel and headed back to Israel with his wife and child as the angel directed him to do. Israel, however, is a big country if you’re traveling on foot, and decisions have to be made about where in Israel to stay. Joseph, again attentive and obedient to the warning in the dream, changed plans and made his home in Nazareth. Joseph, we are told, was afraid — not for his life, but for that of the family — and he made a change. It seems he was attentive to the political climate of the day as well as where work could be found — essential in raising a family and providing for them. While Joseph is silent in the Scriptures, his actions speak for him, actions of a caring father attentive to the Spirit and willing to change course for the protection of his family.
Archeologists tell us that Nazareth was a prime location due to its proximity to a town called Sepphoris, a town that Herod Antipas was rebuilding as his capital at the time. Building was certainly an important trade that could support Joseph’s family, and this trade he would have passed on to Jesus. Some scholars suggest that Jesus and Joseph would never have worked for Herod Antipas on any of his building projects because the city of Sepphoris had theaters, stadiums, graven images and other features that went against Jewish law and custom. I can imagine, however, be it in Sepphoris or Nazareth, Jesus and Joseph walking together early in the morning to work on the building projects, tools hanging by their sides, toting a hearty meal prepared by Mary.
I wonder what the home of the Holy Family actually looked and felt like. I’m sure archeologists can give us insight into the physical structure of a first-century Nazorean home, but I wonder what the atmosphere was like inside. I’m certain you and I have experienced homes that are warm, welcoming and hospitable. Even the decorations on the outside hint at the welcome spoken by the décor and furnishings inside. On the other hand, there are homes which seem cold, uninviting and inhospitable. The differences between the two have a less to do with the size or structure of the house than with the warmth and love of the people inside.
This is the beginning of what scholars call the “hidden years” of Jesus. We can gather some insights about what they were like by how Jesus related to people and used everyday objects and imagery in His preaching. Jesus, the God-man, was born of a woman and into a family, and so He experienced and grasped all that being a family member entails, and it was reflected in His messages and how He related to people.
Consider some of the images Jesus used in His teaching: a woman lighting a lamp and placing it on a lamp stand; a woman kneading yeast into dough; straining wine for insects; a friend arriving at midnight; a family dispute and a wayward son that leads to division in the family; a house built on rock; an appreciation for the birds of the air and the flowers in the field; and a man giving a great banquet. All of these stories and images can relate to family and life at home. Jesus must have experienced a wonderful home life with the love and care of Mary and Joseph and His extended family. One thing that you learn living in a small village like Nazareth is that you rely on and need others to survive. This is an idea that we would do well to teach our children by word and example.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that the “hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus by the most ordinary events of daily life.” It goes on to quote from comments Pope Paul VI made on the Feast of the Holy Family in 1964:
The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus — the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us…[a] lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character…[a] lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the “Carpenter's Son,” in you I would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work…. (CCC 533, italics in original)
We do well to remember the words of Pope John Paul II:
To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.
Perhaps in reflecting on that home in Nazareth, the home that formed Jesus, we can reflect on our own homes and the lessons in life and in faith that were taught by words and caught by example. In doing so, maybe we can model the home as it’s meant to be. For
the family is the foundation of society. In it the various generations come together and help one another to grow wise and to harmonize personal rights with the other requirements of social life. (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 52)
Allan Wright received his M.A. in Theology in Scripture from Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University. He is an Adjunct Professor at Seton Hall University and at Assumption College for Sisters in Mendham, NJ. He is author of the book Silent Witnesses in the Gospels (St. Anthony Messenger Press). He can be reached at www.allanwright.org
