The Story of Mary: Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth - Ch. 10 The Birth of Jesus

(Based on Luke 2 & Gospel of James 19-20)

Before he left in search of a midwife, Joseph had the presence of mind still to throw his cloak down on the straw for Mary to lie down on. The homeowner’s wife was running back towards their area of the house yelling at her husband and family. In short order, she was back with a burning lamp that she placed on the flat top of a stone in the wall where it protruded from the one above it. Soon a child whom Joseph judged to be one of their children appeared with a basin of warm water which which her mother placed near Mary’s feet. Straightening up, Rachel turned around and saw Joseph and his sons, “What? You still here? Go and find a midwife! Hurry!”

As Joseph and his sons set out in the fading daylight, they saw a womancoming down from the hill-country. Probably identifying them as travellers, she greeted them and asked them, “Where are you going?”

Joseph responded, “I am seeking a Hebrew midwife.”

She answered, “You are of Israel?” 

“Yes,” Joseph answered hopefully. Then he told her he had a woman that needed her help, and that she was in a nearby cave. He did not say wife, or anything else more definitive, as he was still sometimes unsure, especially with strangers, of how to describe this enigmatic woman whom destiny had brought into his life.

Perhaps picking up on that lack of clarity, the woman said: “Who is it then that is bringing forth in the cave?”

Joseph answered, “A womanbetrothedto me.”

Then the woman said to him: “Is she not your wife?”

Joseph answered: “It is Mary that was reared in the temple of the Lord, and I obtained her by lot as my wife. And yet she is not my wife, but has conceived of the Holy Spirit.”

The midwifelooked at him, the questions obvious in her eyes, “Is this true?”

Joseph said to her: “Just come and see. We need you. You are a midwife? God has lead us to you if so. I will pay you whatever is necessary for your help.” So, the woman, who was indeed a midwife, named Salome as she told them, went with him to the cave. As they entered, they saw a luminous cloud overshadow the cave and fill it with an eerie light. The midwife said: “Now I am seeing strange things. My soulhas been magnified this day because of this.” And immediately the cloud disappeared out of the cave, and a great light shone in the cave, so that their eyes could not bear it.

Just then Mary gasped again as pain struck her once more. Salome looked at her protruding abdomen, then up to meet Mary’s eyes, “Are you in labour?” 

“I don’t know,” Mary panted, maybe? She looked beseechingly into the woman’s eyes, “What can I do?”  

Joseph’s mind was in turmoil. What was happening to their trip? What seemed to be unfolding in front of him was not something he had at all anticipated!

In spite of the blinding light that enveloped them all, the midwife approached Mary and offered to help, as she could hear from the sounds Mary was making that she was indeed in labour. Meanwhile, Joseph shepherded his sons away from the cave, as it was not appropriate for them to be part of what was transpiring there. 

Salome, meanwhile had helped Mary settle comfortably onto the straw. She asked Joseph to sit at Mary’s head. Joseph was willing to comply. It seemed that someone knew what she was doing. He sure did not know what to do. 

Just then Mary had another of her pains. “Yes, Mary,” Salome said, “I think you are going to have a baby.”  Joseph’s eyes widened and he had to struggle to calm the panic he felt coming over him. 

“Joseph,” the midwife said, “put your legs alongside Mary and let her rest on your chest. It will give her support and make it easier for her. At some point she will have to push and you can be what she pushes against!” 

Joseph meekly followed the woman’s instructions. He had no other ideas. Meanwhile, she was helping rearrange Mary’s garments to make room for the baby to be born.

Mary was young, strong and healthy, and it was not long before she cried, “I think the baby is starting to come!” 

. 

The woman of the house, Rachel, was still present and she called to her husband, “Ephraim! A knife and more clean water!” and he appeared with a knife which he lay beside the lamp and took the basin of water away and then returned with it filled with clean warm water again.

“Mary,” she said, “I know it is hard, but if you can squat – Joseph can put his arms under yours and help you up, it will be much better.”

The couple continued to follow their helper’s suggestions. When it was evident Mary was having another contraction, she was instructed to push. Joseph had braced himself against her to keep her upright. A few contractions later a head of black hair appeared and with the next contraction they saw the whole head. 

“Try to relax and take some deep breath between the pains,” Salome said gently. She worked with Mary and as she did so the light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared. Suddenly the baby cried, just as Mary felt another pain coming on. With a cry and extra strain on her part, the baby emerged in its entirety and into a cluster of clean torn cloths Salomewas holding at the ready. The baby cried again as she wrapped it in the cloth – it was a boy – Rachel had brought, and lifted him up to Mary’s breast and laid it between her and Mary. 

Then Salome reached for the knife and, passing it through the flame, cut the umbilical cord. After quickly tying the ends in knots she began to bath the baby with the water in the basin. Mary began to wrap her newborn more tightly in the cloths when Salome told her, “You are not done yet, there is still the afterbirth.” A few pushes later Mary rid herself of that and suddenly she felt a whole lot better. Instead of the pain filling her mind she was now filled with wonder at this miracle in front of them. What an amazing thing had just happened!

“Joseph,” she whispered turning her fact up towards his, squeezing his hands once more, “This is Jesus.” 

Joseph did not know whether to laugh or cry. Nor for that matter did Mary. 

The Story of Mary: Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth - Ch. 9 On the Road again

The Story of Mary: Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth - Ch. 9 On the Road again

(Based on Luke 2 and the Gospel of James 17-20 )

When Joseph stepped out to go to back to work again one morning some months later, he saw some Roman soldiers posting a notice at the market. He wondered what it was about but did not want to approach the site while the soldiers were there. Instead, he waited around until they were gone and then asked others who went forward to read it what it said. They told him that it was an order form the Governor Quirinius in Syria, saying that the Roman Emperor Augustus wanted everyone to be enrolled. Galilee was ruled from Damascus at this time.

Just when he thought things had been sorted out, here came another dilemma. ‘I shall enroll my sons,’ Joseph thought, but what shall I do with this maiden? With Mary? How shall I enrol her? As my wife? I am ashamed to do that when she is pregnant but not by me. As my daughter then? But all the sons of  Israel know that she is not my daughter.’ After mulling this over in his mind for some time, Joseph concluded with resignation, ‘The Lord shall itself bring it to pass as the Lord will. He has his hand in all of this. I just need to obey.’

So, Joseph informed Mary and his sons of this change in plans. They made arrangements to go south of Jerusalem to the village of Bethlehem, as Joseph knew both he and Mary were descended from David, and that Bethlehem was regarded as the city of origin of their clan. Because Mary was pregnant he obtained the services of a donkey for her to ride. Joseph then arranged for the care of his younger children and, having stocked up with some provisions for the journey, as well as making sure he had some money for food and lodging, they set out.

In doing this, Joseph was honouring family rights that went back to King David’s time. Most of his descendants, like so many of their people, had been wiped out over the years, what with the invasions of the Assyrians, then the Babylonians and in more recent times, the Greeks and now Romans. So, there was only a small lineage left that was still privileged to have land claims there. ‘Although,’ thought Joseph, ‘ it’s not much of a privilege when you consider we have to interrupt our lives just to go there at the census time to verify our claims there.’

So it was that arrangements were completed and a few days later found Joseph, Mary James and Joseph Jr. retracing the steps Mary and James had taken only some 8 months before. The plan was to complete the business in Bethlehem, then stop off at Mary’s relatives in Jerusalem to give their greetings before returning home.

The sun was low in the West a few days later as the weary travellers saw the towers of Jerusalem in the distance as they turned south to Bethlehem. They trudged wearily across the low valley and up the eastern slope of the hill on which Bethlehem lay. They were trying to get there as fast as they could because Mary had begun to complain of backache, which, as they approached the town, seemed to begin to come and go in waves. Mary did not want to alarm Joseph so had not told him of this latest change in her pain. He just believed she was tired from being pregnant and walking that distance, and wanted to get them a place for her to rest. 

When they had come within three miles of their destination, Joseph turned and saw Marry sorrowful; and he said to himself: ‘Likely that which is in her distresses her.’ And again, Joseph turned and saw her laughing. Then he said to her: “Mary, how is it that I see in your face at one time laughter, at another sorrow?”

Mary said to Joseph: “Because I see two peoples with my eyes; the one weeping and lamenting, and the other rejoicing and exulting.” Joseph was not one to ask many questions but that answer had not really been satisfying. Giving it some thought as they trudged doggedly on, he wondered whether it had to do with the messages Mary had been given about how the birth of this baby would affect their people and left it at that. Sometimes Mary, with her deep thoughts, was hard to figure out.

They had not gone much farther along in silence when Mary said to Joseph: Please take me down from off the ass, for that which is in me presses to come forth. And he took her down from off the ass.

“Ah, that feels a bit better,” Mary said as she stood leaning against the donkey. 

But then Joseph said to her: “Where shall I take you, and cover your disgrace? For the place is like a desert and night is coming.” Joseph spoke of childbirth as a disgrace, because, again, according to their customs, the opening of the body with childbirth and the messy loss of all those fluids and blood was seen as making a person unclean according to their law. 

Joseph took hold of the rope and led the donkey on, with Mary and his sons following, on foot. There had been others on the road with them, also coming to Jerusalem and Bethlehem because of the census. Joseph had his own little worry – that there would be no place for them to stay. They finally did come to a place where they could see some other travellers about the premises so Joseph concluded this could be a place that was making space available for travellers. 

They turned aside and Joseph inquired as to whether they had room for two more. The owner of the house was at first dismissive and said they had no room, but apologized when he saw Mary and said they were already full and really could do no more. In response to Joseph’s query as to whether there were other places to stay, he really could not say. Joseph was considering going on to look for himself when a sudden cry came from Mary and he turned in dismay as he saw her crumple to the ground. The owner’s wife came out at that point and seeing Mary in her condition ran to help her and turned and said sternly to her husband, “Ephraim, they can stay in the loft above the animals. At least they can rest there and it will even be a little warmer. At least it will be shelter.” Turing back to Mary she said, “Poor child, having to come all this way in your condition.” With her help, Joseph pulled Mary to her feet and placed his arm inside hers to support her more firmly as they were led to the dark area at the side of the house where the lady helped Mary up some steps and quickly pushed together some heaps of straw for the weary travellers to lie down on. As they looked around in the gathering gloom of evening and became accustomed to the dark, they realized that they were really in something of a cave, together with some of the owner’s animals. But at least it was some place to rest. Joseph’s concern for Mary mounted though. He sensed she was going to give birth. How was he to handle this, away from anyone he knew, here with his sons too? There seemed to be only one choice. Leaving Mary in charge of the friendly woman of the house, Joseph and his sons set out to look for a midwife. The woman had told them who to look for and where they might find her.

The Story of Mary: Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth - Ch. 8 Resolution

(Based on The Gospel of James 15 & 16)

Joseph, having reached some level of understanding of what was occurring, feeling that he was doing the right thing, began to make plans to return to work. It was the first day of the week. 

Noticing that Joseph was back at home, Annas the local synagogue scribe came to him, and said: “Why have you not appeared in our assembly?” referring to the regular village synagogue meeting two days earlier.

Joseph said to him: “Because I was weary from my journey, and rested the first day.” 

As Joseph answered, Annas turned and saw Mary behind him in the house. He was stunned. Mary was pregnant!  Before Joseph could say anything more, Annas hurried off to the local priest, and said to him: “Joseph, whom you vouched for when the matter of who would look after this virgin from Jerusalem came up, has committed a grievous crime.”

The priestsaid: “How so?”

“Joseph has defiled the virgin whom he received out of the temple of the Lord, and has married her by stealth, and has not revealed it to the sons of Israel,” Annas replied. 

“Indeed,” the priest answered, “Has Joseph done this?”

Annas replied: “Send officers, and you will find the virgin with child.”

The officers were located and dispatched, and found the situation as Annas had said. They wasted no time but brought Mary along with Joseph to a hastily called tribunal. The priest said  sternly: “Mary, why have you done this? Why have you brought your soul low, and forgotten the Lord your God? You who were reared in the Holy of Holies, why have you done this?”

Mary wept bitterly. Just when things had seemed to take a turn for the better with her conversation with Joseph, her old fears returned. She protested: “As the Lord my God lives, I am pure before Him, and know not a man.”

Not believing her, particularly as she was only a woman, who was not regarded as a valid witness in that society, the priest turned to Joseph: “Why have you done this?”

Joseph answered as had Mary: “As the Lord lives, I am pure concerning her.”

The priest rebuked Joseph: “Bear not false witness, but speak the truth. You have married her by stealth, and have not revealed it to the sons of Israel, and have not bowed your head under the strong hand, that your seed might be blessed.

Joseph remained silent. He was by now quite sure of the real status of his and Mary’s situation before God and was not too unnerved by the priest’s expected judgmental tone.

Then the priest said: “Give up the virgin whom you received out of the temple of the Lord.”

Then Joseph burst into tears. How could this happen. Just when things seemed to be falling into place in a good way. Just when he had begun to realize that he loved this strange young woman. Was it all coming undone? 

The priest announced: “We must first test you, both of you. I will give you to drink of the water of the ordeal of the Lord, and He shall make manifest your sins in your eyes.” 

Joseph knew what was coming. This was a longheld practice among his people. Once he took the drink, he had to leave the village, as he was considered unclean, a sinner under judgment, until the answer of the test was revealed. If he was lying before God, the drink would kill him and his body would be found.

The priest took the water, and gave Joseph to drink and sent him away to the hill-country. He also gave Mary to drink, and sent her away to the hill-country. The crowd that had gathered parted to let them pass. Most were silent but a few could not hold back from uttering harsh words of condemnation. With that, the tribunal disbanded and the crowd that remained drifted quietly away, sombered by the gravity of what had just played out. 

Some time later, to the astonishment of those who saw them, both Joseph and Mary returned unhurt. Those who had seen them return anxiously, if not eagerly, followed them to the priest’s home to see what would happen. When the priest saw them unharmed he too was amazed. But the answer was clear. Echoing his thoughts, he laid his hands on their heads as they knelt before him and said: “If the Lord God has not made manifest your sins, neither do I judge you.” Then he blessed them and sent them away. All the people who had seen this wondered that sin did not appear in them. But Joseph took Mary, and they went away to their  home, rejoicing and glorifying the God of Israel. Their minds were full of imagining what could be in store for them.

The Story of Mary: Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth - Ch. 7 Another Night Visitor

Zechariah and Elizabeth arranged for a servant to accompany Mary back to Nazareth. It was really not prudent to send a woman alone on this journey, let alone a pregnant one. 

Mary was relived to find on her return that Joseph had gone to work on a distant project and would not be home for some time.  She settled back into the routine she was used to in the family from before her leaving. It almost seemed the family treated her better now, thought Mary. Maybe they realized what she contributed to the family and had missed her in her absence. 

At the same time, Mary knew her abdomen was growing. She did her best to conceal it with the loose-fitting garments she wore and was generally successful. If Joseph’s children or the neighbours noticed anything, no one was saying anything. They all know I am supposed to be a virgin, thought Mary, so maybe they will just think I am gaining weight. She found that what she had learned when she was at her aunt’s had helped put her mind at ese about her future and she really did not worry. In fact, it seemed that the more pregnant she became, the more cheerful she seemed to all around her. Everyone else thought she was just fitting in better and treated her even better in return.

Eventually Joseph returned to Nazareth to take a break from his work and see to it that his family was doing alright. Now, if his family and neighbours had not made anything of Mary’s growing abdomen, perhaps because it was so gradual, the difference Joseph saw after his extended absence was very clear. She looked pregnant! What now? What should he do? Joseph was a quiet man, not one to jump to conclusions and confront people. So, her kept his thoughts to himself as the day progressed. However, Mary’s every movement just seemed to reinforce his first impression. Still, Joseph kept silent.

That night as Joseph retired though, when the time for his evening prayers arrived, he could contain himself no longer. In his distress, he scrounged around and found some sackcloth and threw himself down on it, prostate, hitting himself on the cheeks, He wept bitterly, saying: “How can I face the Lord my God? And what prayer shall I make about this maiden? Because I received her a virgin out of the temple of the Lord, and I have not watched over her. Who is it that has hunted me down? Who has done this evil thing in my house, and defiled the virgin? Has not the history of Adam been repeated in me? For just as he was in the hour of his singing praise, and the serpent came, and found Eve alone, and completely deceived her, so it has happened to me also.”

Joseph could not go on. Sleep would not come. He had to confront Mary. He stood up from the sackcloth, and called Mary, and said to her: “You are pregnant, are n you not? You have been cared for your whole life by God, so why have you done this and forgotten the Lord your God? Why have you brought low your soul, you who were brought up in the Holy of Holies?”

Mary was at a loss for words. She knew she was in her 6^thmonth and now it really was no longer impossible to hide the truth. She had wanted so much to please this man who had given her a home, a somewhat normal life. And now this. She knew that to Joseph, she must look like someone who had deceived him and betrayed her God, She burst into tears and wept bitterly, saying: “I am innocent; I have not slept with any man.”

But Joseph said to her, in obvious anguish himself, “Then how could you be pregnant? Where did that come from?” 

Mary replied: “As the Lord my God lives, I do not know what is really happening to me.” (Gospel of James 13)

Something in Mary’s tears, her protest of innocence, gave Joseph cause to reconsider. Indeed, he had never known her to really lie to him, let alone do anything else really wrong. Suddenly, Joseph himself felt a fear.

“Forgive me if I have accused you wrongly Mary,” Joseph said. Then, overcome with emotion, he did something he had never done to this virgin before. He took both of her small hands in his big carpenter’s hands. Mary looked up at him expectantly through her tears. Joseph, touched by the sadness in her luminous dark eyes, threw his arms around her and said, “Do not be afraid. We will get through this. We must see what the Lord says in answer to our prayers. Go to sleep now.”

Mary returned to her bed and Joseph retired from her, and considered what he should do in regard to her. He thought, ‘If I conceal her sin, I find myself fighting against the law of the Lord. The Law says she should die for this. But if I expose her to my neighbours, these sons of Israel, I am afraid lest that which is in her be from an angel, and I shall be found giving up innocent blood to the doom of death. What then shall I do with her? I will put her away from me secretly.’ 

Having come to this conclusion, Joseph finally fell into a sleep, though not a restful one. He was exhausted but only slept fitfully. He was in that tiring state of being half awake and half asleep when all at once he felt a strange warmth about him. When he became aware of it he also noticed it was becoming increasingly brighter. Was he dreaming? But no, it was as if he felt something, a presence in the room. He was overcome with terror. What was happening? Suddenly he felt as if the room was filling with blinding light! Then he saw it – the radiant figure of a young man at the foot of his mat. He was speechless but then the figure spoke:

““Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:20-1).” 

Joseph gasped. This stranger was speaking to everything that had occupied his mind these last dreadful hours. Who was this and how did this figure know?  He scarcely had time to begin to gather his thoughts, realizing he had had all kinds of questions for this person. But before he could summon the courage to open his mouth, the visitor was gone. 

Joseph bolted up from his sleep. There was nothing unusual around him; the room felt cold and dark as usual at night. Then he realized, it had all been a dream. He sat momentarily in stunned silence. Then, as the force of what had just happened began to dissipate, he started to go over what he had just heard. ‘Joseph, son of David’ - Yes, he was a descendant of Israel’s great king. But he had never been greeted that way before. What did this mean? Yet, as he went through the message he had just been given, Joseph felt a strange sense of comfort and strength. This person - and it must have been an angel – knew all about his dilemma, his fears. And he had told him not to be afraid, but to take Mary as his wife. Suddenly, Joseph felt the beginnings of hope return. This, this angel, had also told him that Mary’s child was from the Holy Spirit, not from himself, not from any other man. That should have been a relief, and it was, but it was all still a bit much to really sink in as to what this was all about. What did this all mean? Joseph could not believe his ears. But then, strange things had happened before in his life. The whole affair of this young woman before him coming into his and his family’s life had been unusual. Over time, he had also learned of Mary’s unusual beginnings and life. The questions in his mind, he knew, only Jehovah could answer. 

Joseph lay back on his mat and breathed a prayer, asking The Highest One for guidance and then also thanking him for sending this messenger to reinforce what Mary had said and give him some direction. Ultimately, he did fall asleep again. He was still tired but beginning to feel a little more at ease so it was a much better sleep than how the night had begun.

In the morning Joseph wakened again, rose from his sleep, and glorified the God of Israel in his morning prayers, the One who had given him this message of grace. Now, he could decide with peace to keep Mary. Somehow, it was all beginning to feel so right, so – good! (Gospel of James 14)