Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

[JohnS]

Perhaps this topic has come a week late (i.e As Easter came and passed quite late this year) but it's not quite what you think (it is). When someone mentions this city nowadays invariably the place where Jesus came from comes to mind. More importantly, it was never a place of great renown and it remains so to this day. Nathaniel, one of the twelve disciples famously said when told that Jesus came from there, "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" That's because it's the last place you'd think anyone making claims about themselves would come from. To this day, it is the only city in Israel with a majority-Arab population.

Then again, history is replete with stories of people coming from unlikely origins. If it were possible to tell Socrates (and perhaps Plato) that a fellow from Macedonia named Alexander would soon come along and subdue the great Persian Empire, they would have laughed at you for merely mentioning such a thing. In Ancient Greece, anyone of note came from Athens, Sparta or Thebes. And then along came Aristotle to take up a tutoring gig in the North of Greece for Philip II.

Or how about telling the Sun King, Louis XIV at the beginning of the 18th century that within a hundred years his royal dynasty will be usurped by a great military general from the island of Corsica? "Impossible!" would be his reply, I'd say.

I recently changed my workplace after fourteen years at the same school. The new school was a little closer to my home but after 12 months the school principal was told that 2 teachers would need to self-nominate to transfer out as the school had dropped in student numbers. One teacher elected to retire and I nominated myself, on behalf of my colleagues, to leave for two reasons as, one; I was the last person to come to the school and two; I was the best candidate to make the change as I had just gone through the process. I will tell you that this act of selflessness on behalf of preventing the boss forcing someone to move against their volition was greatly respected and admired by my colleagues (and my principal).

Yet, the story doesn't end there. What school was I to go to? Well remember Nazareth, the city of little renown? Well, that sums up my first non-descript school I went to when I was a kid. You see, I grew up in Punchbowl in Sydney and attended the local public school in 1977. In April 1978, I left when my parents moved to another suburb in Sydney. I remember thinking how glad I was to get out of there...I never seemed to fit into the school system there. Fast forward to 2025 and I was waiting news for my new transfer. I was told that I would be placed in a school within an hour's drive of my home. As there are 1392 public schools (at primary level) in Sydney, that eliminated 699 of them. In March, I was told that the school I would be transferred to would be...PUNCHBOWL! Yes, that's a 1 in 693 chance. I seriously thought that God was playing a joke on me!

After I visited the school in March, I was astounded to learn that a lot of buildings had changed, of course, but my old wooden demountable classroom, the last left standing, was still there! I couldn't believe it! But in all seriousness, today was my first day working there and I'm glad my life has gone 'full circle'. I was meant to end up there and help these kids of a lower socio-economic community in their learning. Does anything good come out of Nazareth? Or even Punchbowl? Maybe, maybe just me!

[Ford2112]

It moulded you into the Cigar Jesus.

[ha_banos]

Nice!

Been visiting less privileged primary schools in London introducing the idea of coding to 8-10 yo. Using the BBC microbit as an aid. The kids each get one to keep - work sponsors this Kids in Engineering programme. My little bit of trying to give something back. 

Nowadays we talk a bit about AI too. 😁

JohnS reflects on how greatness can come from humble or unlikely places, sharing his own experience of returning to a rougher area similar to where he grew up, which led to unexpected personal growth.

 

 

 

[Cigar Surgeon]

That's a really interesting story, thanks for sharing John! Looking forward to hearing about the new journey on a Discord.

[MrBirdman]

Wonderful story John. 

  On 4/28/2025 at 12:50 PM, JohnS said:

Louis XIV at the beginning of the 18th century that within a hundred years his royal dynasty will be usurped by a great military general from the island of Corsica? "Impossible!" would be his reply, I'd say

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It’s an interesting feature of European history that the biggest autocrats of the two past centuries - Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin - were all born outside the country they’d come to rule, with discernible accents belying their origin. 

[JohnS]

  On 4/28/2025 at 8:53 PM, MrBirdman said:

Wonderful story John. 

It’s an interesting feature of European history that the biggest autocrats of the two past centuries - Napoleon, Hitler, and Stalin - were all born outside the country they’d come to rule, with discernible accents belying their origin. 

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Thank you for adding that. It is very interesting, indeed!

[MoeFOH]

Damn, I thought this was going to be a story about Martin guitars. 

Nice one, John. 

[GaryK 54]

  On 4/28/2025 at 12:50 PM, JohnS said:

Perhaps this topic has come a week late (i.e As Easter came and passed quite late this year) but it's not quite what you think (it is). When someone mentions this city nowadays invariably the place where Jesus came from comes to mind. More importantly, it was never a place of great renown and it remains so to this day. Nathaniel, one of the twelve disciples famously said when told that Jesus came from there, "can anything good come out of Nazareth?" That's because it's the last place you'd think anyone making claims about themselves would come from. To this day, it is the only city in Israel with a majority-Arab population.

Then again, history is replete with stories of people coming from unlikely origins. If it were possible to tell Socrates (and perhaps Plato) that a fellow from Macedonia named Alexander would soon come along and subdue the great Persian Empire, they would have laughed at you for merely mentioning such a thing. In Ancient Greece, anyone of note came from Athens, Sparta or Thebes. And then along came Aristotle to take up a tutoring gig in the North of Greece for Philip II.

Or how about telling the Sun King, Louis XIV at the beginning of the 18th century that within a hundred years his royal dynasty will be usurped by a great military general from the island of Corsica? "Impossible!" would be his reply, I'd say.

I recently changed my workplace after fourteen years at the same school. The new school was a little closer to my home but after 12 months the school principal was told that 2 teachers would need to self-nominate to transfer out as the school had dropped in student numbers. One teacher elected to retire and I nominated myself, on behalf of my colleagues, to leave for two reasons as, one; I was the last person to come to the school and two; I was the best candidate to make the change as I had just gone through the process. I will tell you that this act of selflessness on behalf of preventing the boss forcing someone to move against their volition was greatly respected and admired by my colleagues (and my principal).

Yet, the story doesn't end there. What school was I to go to? Well remember Nazareth, the city of little renown? Well, that sums up my first non-descript school I went to when I was a kid. You see, I grew up in Punchbowl in Sydney and attended the local public school in 1977. In April 1978, I left when my parents moved to another suburb in Sydney. I remember thinking how glad I was to get out of there...I never seemed to fit into the school system there. Fast forward to 2025 and I was waiting news for my new transfer. I was told that I would be placed in a school within an hour's drive of my home. As there are 1392 public schools (at primary level) in Sydney, that eliminated 699 of them. In March, I was told that the school I would be transferred to would be...PUNCHBOWL! Yes, that's a 1 in 693 chance. I seriously thought that God was playing a joke on me!

After I visited the school in March, I was astounded to learn that a lot of buildings had changed, of course, but my old wooden demountable classroom, the last left standing, was still there! I couldn't believe it! But in all seriousness, today was my first day working there and I'm glad my life has gone 'full circle'. I was meant to end up there and help these kids of a lower socio-economic community in their learning. Does anything good come out of Nazareth? Or even Punchbowl? Maybe, maybe just me!

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What an inspiring story, John. You will definitely make a difference in the lives of these young students!

[riderpride]

  On 4/28/2025 at 10:09 PM, MoeFOH said:

Damn, I thought this was going to be a story about Martin guitars. 

Nice one, John. 

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Heck, I was thinking 'Hair of the Dog', but that makes sense too 😆 

I appreciate the perspective John. Always able to see the positive.

Cheers!

[Bijan]

I'll add the trivia fact that in Hebrew, Christianity is referred to as Natzrut (נצרות). Which is more or less Nazareth-ism.

[JohnS]

  On 4/28/2025 at 10:09 PM, MoeFOH said:

Damn, I thought this was going to be a story about Martin guitars. 

Nice one, John. 

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Haha...okay, I've got to get a story together that includes something about Martin guitars. Thanks for the inspiration. Leave it with me! 😂

  On 4/29/2025 at 1:23 AM, GaryK 54 said:

What an inspiring story, John. You will definitely make a difference in the lives of these young students!

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Yes, thank you!

  On 4/29/2025 at 1:30 AM, riderpride said:

Heck, I was thinking 'Hair of the Dog', but that makes sense too 😆 

I appreciate the perspective John. Always able to see the positive.

Cheers!

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Yes, I was discussing this very thing with the Deputy Principal today!

  On 4/29/2025 at 3:40 AM, Bijan said:

I'll add the trivia fact that in Hebrew, Christianity is referred to as Natzrut (נצרות). Which is more or less Nazareth-ism.

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Thank you, Bijan!