The first edition of our quarterly review has now been released.
You can read about the exciting developments and achievements across The Nazareth Trust.
In this edition, we cover everything from our Internal Department ranking top in Israel to marking 100 years of the Academic School of Nursing.
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Following in the Footsteps of Jesus up to Jerusalem
A Lenten Pilgrimage of Hope
The following reflections are offered as an accompaniment to the short video clips we have produced for our Lenten journey this year for those who want a more in-depth meditation on each stage of this journey!
Lent 1 – “The Call within the Call”
Matthew 16: 24-28 – Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
We begin our Pilgrimage of Hope in the far north of Israel in the region of Caesarea Philippi (present day Banias) where after three years of following him, Jesus begins to tell his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem where he must suffer many things at the hands of the Jewish leaders, and be killed, and be raised the third day. This is too much for Peter to bear after his great confession that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of the living God, and he begins to rebuke Jesus, saying, “Far it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.”
Jesus recognises the voice of his archenemy, Satan, in Peter’s rebuke and responds accordingly as he is suggesting a similar temptation to the one that Satan used in the Judean wilderness three years earlier when he offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth if he fell down and worshipped him. This is the pernicious offer of glory without suffering, and a crown without the cross! Jesus immediately recognises this as a hindrance and stumbling block to his calling as both the Messiah and the Suffering Servant of Yahweh, and says to Peter, “Get behind me Satan!”.
Peter is rebuked for setting his mind on human things rather than the things of God, and Jesus proceeds to issue a very challenging call to his disciples based on the imperative if anyone would come after me, which is recorded in the passage above. This is effectively a call within the call which they had already received three years earlier to come and follow Jesus! They had readily responded to this call by leaving their fishing nets, tax booths (and other occupations), families, and lands and following him.
Now, as Jesus begins to set his face resolutely towards Jerusalem, this call is restated with the costly conditions of self-denial and embracing the cross of suffering to the point of losing their lives to gain them. Their response to this call to follow their Master is far less appealing to them than the initial call, and as they somewhat reluctantly followed him on the road up to Jerusalem, Jesus had to keep reminding them of his imminent sufferings, death, and resurrection, and the cost of following after him as his disciples.
Questions/actions:
Prayer: Dear Lord, as we begin this Lenten journey of hope and transformation, give us a mind of humility and grace, and the strength and courage to deny our selfish desires and take up our cross and to follow after you on your road to the place of your suffering, death and resurrection. Please fill us with your joy and peace in following you so that we might overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the name of Jesus your suffering Servant we pray, Amen!
Our Pilgrimage of Hope.
During Lent, we’ll be following in the footsteps of Jesus as He made His last journey to Jerusalem.
We’ll reflect on the different stages of His journey as we find ourselves in a time of great challenges in the world. Yet this is a pilgrimage of transformation through suffering to glory, from challenges to hope!
Come and follow us as we follow Jesus of Nazareth.
‘This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” 1 John 1:5-7
In 1 John 1:5-7, we learn a powerful truth: ‘God is light, and there is no darkness in Him’.
This means God is pure, good, and true. If we say we follow God but live in darkness—doing wrong or hiding the truth—we aren’t living honestly.
This passage reminds us that claiming fellowship with God is not enough; our lives must reflect His light. When we walk in God’s light, as He is in the light, we can share true fellowship with each other. We can step into a way of life that mirrors God’s purity, truth, and love. Light can’t be overtaken by darkness, and God’s love and goodness are unchanging.
The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. When we bring our sin to God, we open the way to God’s forgiveness. Forgiveness from all sins, past, present, and future.
Walking in the light doesn’t mean being perfect; it means trusting Jesus to forgive and guide us. Jesus’ sacrifice purifies us and empowers us to live as children of the light.
Advent is a time of waiting, but also a time of aligning our hearts and lives with the light of Christ. This Advent let’s think about where we might still be walking in darkness. Are there things we need to bring to God? Are there relationships we can make right? God’s light shows us the way to love, truth, and peace.
Prayer:
Lord, You are the light of the world, and in You, there is no darkness at all. Shine Your light into the hidden corners of our hearts, exposing anything that keeps us from fellowship with You. Help us to walk in Your truth and to reflect Your light to others this Advent season. Amen.
Our dearest partners, friends and supporters
We would like to take the opportunity of Christmas and the New Year to thank you for your continuous support and for keeping us in your prayers over the past 15 months during which the Middle East has suffered from war and increased instability.
We thank God for His protection of our staff, families, patients, and facilities and continue to pray for sustainable peace and prosperity for all the population in our region.
On behalf of the Nazareth Trust board of trustees, the executive team, the staff and their families, as well all the people of Nazareth and surrounding area, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May all of us know the peace of Christ, which transcends all understanding and abide in the joy of being reborn in Christ in this blessed season!
Sincerely yours Waseem Dibbini, CEO
‘And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come into to the light lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.’ (John 3: 19-21)
The verse above tells us of different reactions to the light which has come into the world. As we read the account of the first Christmas we read about Mary and her response “may it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38), and we see Joseph’s obedience in taking the actions recommended by the angel (Matt 1:24). These are examples of coming to the light, being willing not only to welcome the light but to have the Light as a part of their very being, their family, the closest possible relationship.
The shepherds hear the good news and come towards the nativity and the light of Jesus. They leave transformed and praising God (Luke 2:20). The Magi watch and see a sign in the heavens, and leave for the longest journey of anyone in the story, bringing valuable gifts and risking their lives through their determination to meet the Messiah (Matt 2:1-12).
These are not the only people responding. Anna and Simeon are waiting patiently in the temple, waiting and watching for the arrival of the light. They have believed the prophecies, and God’s promises to them personally, and wait eagerly for Him to appear. (Luke 2: 28, 38)
Yet they are not the only ones who know the prophecies. The religious leaders are in Jerusalem, with the King, advising Him. They are close, not only to King Herod but also close to Bethlehem where the new King has arrived. Herod consults with the religious leaders who know the prophecies and they tell him that this new King, the light, will appear in Bethlehem. They are so close. Herod sends the Magi to seek Him out, promising that he also will go and worship. He says all the right words yet neither Herod nor the religious leaders make any attempt to go the short distance and welcome Jesus. In fact, we see their real choices as they try to kill Him, one through the slaughter of the innocents and the others at the crucifixion. (Matt 2:16)
The good news reveals not only the Messiah, but also what is in our own hearts. Do we worship and welcome him or do we prefer the darkness? Do we recognise the Light which has come into our lives, into our world, or will we reject it?
Prayer: Lord, we recognise our weaknesses and sins and welcome the good news of Your coming into this world. Help us to leave behind anything that would prevent us coming into Your presence this advent. Help us to spend time with You and be transformed by Your loving presence in our lives. Give us Your faithfulness and courage to keep choosing You, all through our lives. Amen.
‘There was a man send from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the Light, that all might believe through him. He was not the Light but came to bear witness about the Light. The true light which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world’ (John 1:6-9)
“Woe to an age when the voices of those who cry in the wilderness have fallen silent, outshouted by the noise of the day or outlawed or swallowed up in the intoxication of progress, or smothered and growing fainter for fear and cowardice.”
These are the words of Father Alfred Delp, a German pastor written from his prison cell shortly before was executed by the Nazi’s for refusing to recant on his Christian vocation and calling as a Jesuit priest who resisted the evil of Hitler and National Socialism during the Second World War. Like John the Baptist before him, he bore witness about the Light of Christ in the deep darkness of Nazi Germany for which he also paid the ultimate price of martyrdom.
The Advent messages he wrote from his prison cell which were scribbled on scraps of paper and smuggled out of Tegel prison by a sympathetic guard provide compelling witness to this Light and issue a profound wake-up call to us as Christians today – see Advent of the Heart: Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings for the English translation.
We too are called to bear witness about the true light which lightens everyone who has come into the world – Jesus Christ! He told his disciples shortly before Pentecost, “… you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts1:8).
The season of Advent invites us not only to come to the light of Christ which shines in the darkness, but to bear witness about this light that came into the world in the form of the baby of Bethlehem and continues to shine through all those who have received this glorious gift from God through faith!
Prayer:
Loving God,
We thank you for the gift of your Son, the true light that continues to shine in the darkness of our fearful and anxious world. Help us to bear witness about this light through our words and actions to our families, friends and those we encounter during this season of love, joy and peace and throughout the coming year. We also thank you for the glorious gift of your Holy Spirit who empowers and strengthens us in our weakness to shine the light of your love in our dark world. In the name of Jesus, the Light of the World we pray. Amen
