"And Blessed is She"

The Ein Gev Holiday Village, at left, is our home for four nights.  Each cottage right on the sea, close enough to hear the lapping waves, houses two.  They have been recently renovated and are pure delight. Surrounded by palms, and tropical flowers, we are a contented lot.

The kibbutz was established by 30 members in 1938. Like all kibbutz collectives, it began as an agricultural effort in communal living.  It's first producing crop was bananas, although there was a dream of the tourism industry right from the beginning. They raise ostriches and chickens.

We visited the church of the Annunciation in Nazareth today. It is the largest church in the Middle East and remembers the angels announcement to Mary that she would be the favored one to bear the Christ Child.  The church is modern, exudes an air of  mystery and is multinational in its representation of Mary.  Depictions of Mary in mural form adorn the church walls and  have been given by nations around the globe. This statue to the right shows a young Mary, which she was. "And blessed is she..."

The gift from Japan, seen below is created with thousands of pearls and is exquisite.

Mary's song, The Magnificat, is a song pregnant with hope and possibility for what The Lord can do: "My soul magnifies The Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."  Luke 1:46-55. This, like the Beatitudes, is Reversal of Fortune spirituality. It is radical and hope filled .  
Tomorrow I will share some of our Ah-Ha moments and Israel by numbers.

Blessings, Mary