The Story of Mary: Roman Catholic Version: II Another Special Birth – Ch. 5 - Visited by an Angel

(Based on The First Gospel of James sections 11 and Luke 1: 26-38)

Mary went back to fitting into her expanding role as a woman, a new wife, in Joseph’s household. However, Nazareth being the small village it was, Joseph was often gone for long periods of time to find work elsewhere as a builder.  Mary had two stepsons, if you could call them that, James and Joseph Jr., as well as two stepsisters, to keep her company. However, especially when Joseph was gone, these ‘children’ of hers tended to treat her rather poorly. They made her do as much of the housework as possible. They were not going to let her get away with any favoured status, just because she had been raised in the temple and had some kind of elevated station as a virgin before their God. There was gardening to do, food to prepare and laundry to be washed, but Mary did it without complaint. She sometimes wondered why these members of her household treated her this way, what she had done to deserve it. All she could conclude was that they were jealous.

One day she went, as was her custom, to the village well to get water. She was drawing up her pitcher of water when she was startled by the sound of a voice saying: “Hail, you who have received grace; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 

Mary looked round, on the right hand and on the left, to see where this voice came. Nothing more happened; no one was to be seen. She hurried, trembling, to her house, and put down the pitcher, and sat down on her seat to collect herself. But the voice came again, and this time she saw where it was coming from.  What was happening? She found herself shaking in fear, for there was a strange figure standing at the foot of her mat!

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the figure said reassuringly, “I come to bring you greetings,” the being, who seemed to her to resemble a most handsome young man said, “I am Jehovah’s servant Gabriel and I have come to tell you that you are most favoured by the Most High. The Lord is with you (Luke 1:28).” 

Mary was still trembling as she tried to focus on what he was saying. ‘What is this,’ she thought, ‘How have I earned this favour, and what does it mean?’

Then the apparition, and by now she was guessing it was an angel, said to her, “What is more, you have found grace before the Lord of all. You will conceive in your womb according to His word and bear a son, whom you will name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of The Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end (Luke 1:30-33).”

Somehow, the angel’s admonition not to be afraid and his confident manner of speaking had stopped Mary’s shaking. She could think more clearly again and what she heard did not make sense. She thought to herself, ‘Shall I conceive by the Lord, the living God? And shall I bring forth as every woman brings forth?’ So she asked the figure: “How can this be,” Mary asked, “Since I am a virgin (Luke 1:34)?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! For nothing will be impossible with God (Luke 1:35-37).” 

The angel fell silent, gazing warmly at her. Mary felt she needed to respond. She pulled herself together and spoke a calmly as she could, the only words she could seem to pull together that seemed appropriate, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word (Luke 1:37).” No sooner had she said this than the figure disappeared. Then she knew for certain it was an angel. 

Mary did not know what to do with this news. On one hand, she was filled with a strange peace, even a sense of joy. On the other, she knew that if she told Joseph’s children, his family, or anyone else around for that matter, they would probably just think her special status as a virgin had gone to her head. She might be treated even more poorly by Joseph’s children. Mary resolved to keep things to herself. But then an even more awful thought reared up in her mind – what would this mean to her status as a virgin? What could she tell Joseph? What would he, his children and the other villagers think if they saw that she, a married woman too be sure, but one who was to have been kept as a virgin, was pregnant? She had learned that there were some people in Nazareth who took Moses’ law very seriously. And the penalty for being pregnant outside of marriage could be death by stoning if you were found to have committed a sin in getting pregnant. being pregnant was supposed to an occasion for rejoicing, and even more so if it was announced by God, Mary thought. But she was still perplexed. She shuddered to think of the  potential real consequences of being found pregnant and tried even harder to block all this from her mind.

Mary – Ch. 4 – Decision

Joseph trudged home with the heaviest of hearts. Just when life was beginning to look like it was working out – this! The more he thought about it, the more his heart ached. Suddenly he found himself sobbing so hard he had to watch his footing through his tears. He wiped his eyes in the gathering darkness and stumbled on, downhill from Sepphoris and up and over the next hill to descend into Nazareth. Eventually, and he hardly knew how he did it, he arrived at his home.

He couldn’t hide his emotions when he arrived home which immediately prompted his parents to ask what was wrong. Between his tears and sobs he blurted out the whole story as he knew it, “Mary’s pregnant. Doesn’t that mean she broke our Law and will be severely punished?” Joseph could not bring himself to think of her being stoned to death, much less say it. But that could be the penalty under the Law handed down since Moses’ time. He would be the obvious culprit and maybe he would suffer the same punishment. Right now, Joseph could not see a way out of this dilemma.

Joseph’s father Jacob faced him and put both hands on his shoulders, “Joseph,” he said firmly, “Did you get Mary pregnant?”

“No, never” cried Joseph, wondering how his father could even think to accuse him of this.

“Joseph,” his father continued, still facing him squarely, “I did not think so but I had to hear you say it.” Indeed, Jacob had been quite sure he knew his son well enough to know what the answer was. Joseph was not a perfect young man but Jacob knew he had a strong faith and did his best to keep the law.

“Oh, there’s more,” Joseph spoke more strongly now, looking his father in the eyes, “Mary says this is of The Highest One. She said an angel, and she even named him Gabriel, came to her last night and told her this would happen. The angel said it would be of the Lord’s Spirit that she would become pregnant. How is that possible?”

Now Joseph really had both of his parents’ attention. “And did this angel say anything about why this would happen to Mary?” asked his mother Naomi.

“Well, yes.” Joseph was beginning to think more clearly now and recall more of the details, “The angel said the child should be called Jesus and that he would take the throne of David and reign forever.”

Joseph’s parents were stunned. What did all this mean. Could they believe it? 

“Joseph,” his father interjected, “I really don’t know what to say. If this is from The Highest One, we will see what comes of it sooner or later. “But for now, what do you think you should do?”

“I don’t know,” Joseph answered wearily, “I will pray to our God for wisdom. Maybe I can talk to Rabbi ben Levi and see what he would advise.”

“Not a bad idea,” said Jacob, “I think he would listen carefully and give good advice. I think you and I both know he is not one who always follows the letter of the old law. If he did, it might not be a good idea to talk to him just yet or you know what could happen and we don’t want to think about that.”

Jacob sighed deeply. Then, pulling himself up, he looked kindly at Joseph, “But son, you look like you need some sleep. Maybe the answer will come to you tomorrow, or when the Lord wills.”

Joseph did not know if he could wait that long but he knew he had enough for this day. He went off to bed, feeling like he was walking in a dream. Sleep did not come quickly though. As Joseph tried to sleep he kept thinking about it all. As was his habit when he was in such straits, Joseph tried to recall comforting words of scripture. Then, in his desperate straits, he poured his heart out in prayer to his God. It seemed to him the only thing he could do now was break off the engagement. How could he marry someone who was pregnant with – someone else’s? - child. But he did not want any harm to come to Mary. He did not want to get in trouble either. He would have to do this very quietly, just between his family and Mary and her family. That was the only honourable thing he could see doing – for now. People might still talk. After all, the engagement had not been a secret. Oh, there was just too much to consider. But at least he felt that he had come to some decision and with that sleep finally came.

Mary – Ch. 2 – Night Visitor

NOTE: THESE CHAPTERS ARE NOW AVAILABLE IN A MUCH IMPROVED, EXPANDED BOOK, "A SWORD SHALL PIERCE YOUR SOUL" from FriesenPress

Mary thought she was having a wonderful dream. She was suddenly surrounded by so much warmth. But then there was light too, growing ever brighter. Mary opened her eyes and shot up from her mat! The room was filled with so much light she could scarcely see. What was happening? She found herself shaking in fear, and then she noticed it. There was a strange figure standing at the foot of her mat!

““I come to bring you greetings,” the being, who seemed to her to resemble a most handsome young man said, “I am Jehovah’s servant Gabriel and I have come to tell you that you are most favoured by the Most High. The Lord is with you.” 

Mary was still trembling as she tried to focus on the figure in the blinding light. ‘What is this,’ she thought, ‘How have I earned this favour, and what does it mean?’

Then the figure, and by now she was guessing it was an angel, said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you really have found favour with Jehovah. What is more, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, whom you will name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the son of The Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Somehow, the angel’s admonition not to be afraid and his confident manner of speaking had stopped Mary’s shaking. She could think again and what she heard did not make sense.

“How can this be,” Mary asked, “Since I am a virgin?”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the child to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God. And look, your relative Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son in her old age – although she was called barren, she is now in her sixth month! For nothing will be impossible with God.” 

The angel fell silent, gazing warmly at her. Mary felt she needed to respond. She pulled herself together and spoke a calmly as she could, “Yes, I am a servant of the Lord; let this happen to me according to your word.” No sooner had she said this than the figure disappeared. Then she knew for certain it was an angel.

Mary ran to her parent bed, “Mother, Father,” she cried, “I just saw an angel!” 

Suddenly the whole experience overwhelmed her and she flew sobbing into her mother’s arms. Her mother held her close and stroked her hair, “You must have been dreaming. No angel has come to Israel for centuries. And especially not to a girl.”

Mary pulled herself up and looked her mother in the face, “No mother, I was not dreaming. Didn’t you see the light. It filled the room!”

“What light?” her mother asked, “We were sound asleep.”

Then Mary realized she had been the only one to see and hear all of this. How could she convince her parents of what she now so strongly believed to be true of what she had just gone through. How could she tell them the angel had said she was going to be pregnant?

“Mother,” Mary said, and by now her father had pulled himself up on one elbow too and was listening as well, “I saw an angel and he told me his name was Gabriel.”

That got her father sitting right up and both were now giving her their full attention. Both Anna and Joachim knew that there was an angel called Gabriel. The scriptures spoke of him.

Mary gulped, not knowing how the rest of her story would strike her parents but she couldn’t stop, “He told me I was going to become pregnant, not from a man but from the Holy Spirit. He said the baby was to be named Jesus and that he would be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He would reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will never end.”  

Joachim and Anna were stunned. Their daughter, pregnant, by the action of God’s Spirit! And her son to be a king? Mary was a descendant of their ancestor King David, so that part was right. So was Joseph for that matter. Things were starting to make sense but it was still all too much.

“Oh, and…’ Mary raced on, “the angel also said that cousin Elizabeth has also become pregnant with a son. In her old age!” Mary said. “And he said she was already in her sixth month!”

Anna shook her head as if trying to clear up her bewilderment: “Elizabeth? Pregnant?”

“Yes,” Mary gushed, “The angel said nothing was impossible with God.”

Anna couldn’t argue with that. Quickly another thought cropped up. That was something she could check. If Elizabeth was indeed expecting, that would corroborate Mary’s story. And, oh, how wonderful that would be for Zechariah and Elizabeth. They had struggled for years under the shadow if their inability to have a child. And a son to top it all off!

Anna took a deep breath. “Joachim,” she said turning to look at her husband, “What do we do with all of this?”

“Right now, I’m not sure,” he answered. 

“Mary, my child,” Joachim said as he leaned forward to place his arm around her, looking into her radiant face “Are you sure about all this?” It did seem too fantastical not to be true. There was so much in it that rang true and he knew he should not doubt his daughter. 

As if reading his thoughts, Mary turned to look her father in the eye and said as calmly as she could with the excitement she felt, “Have I ever lied to you?”

“No, no, Mary, you have not. I think right now though, all we can do is keep this in our minds and try to get some sleep and talk about it further in the morning.”

“So, you believe me then?” Mary added.

“Yes, yes Mary, “I do.”

With that Mary flung her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him. “You too mother, she said?”

“Of course, child,” Anna joined in, “How could I not?”

Mary sighed and pulled herself away from her parents, her thoughts still racing. What would they talk about in the morning. And how could she sleep with all of this on her mind?

Then an awful thought reared up in her mind – what would this mean to her engagement? What would they tell Joseph?