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. 3 – Breaking the news

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

But Mary did sleep, most restfully. Before he knew it, she was waking up and the sun was streaming in through the small window high on the wall of her room. ‘Oh,’ She thought, ‘It’s getting late.’ She started to stretch and then sat bolt upright! Last night! What had happened last night? 

She tried to organize her thoughts as she quickly washed her face and ran her fingers through her hair as she ran and looked for her mother. Anna was keeping some breakfast warm for her when Mary came into the room.

“Mother,” she cried, “Do you remember last night?”

“I certainly do,” Anna responded, “How could I forget it?” 

‘Oh, good, thought Mary, ‘I wasn’t dreaming after all.’

“Mary, have some breakfast,” her mother said firmly, “And then we need to talk.”

Mary nodded obediently and sat on the floor beside her mother to eat what had been prepared. 

Anna did not wait for her to finish. “So,” she said, “The angel Gabriel visited you and said you were going to be pregnant and have a son named Jesus. You know Jesus means ‘Saviour,’ right?”

Mary nodded. “And,” her mother went on, “This son is supposed to become the King of Israel.” This was something neither of the two women could grasp. How would that ever come about? They were as good as nobodies in their world when it came to that sort of thing. 

“Well,” Anna broke into their thoughts, “If this is what The Most High wants, he can bring it to pass. And you will need His protection because you know what the consequences for being pregnant in your circumstances can be.”  

Mary almost choked. She looked wide-eyed at her mother. She had not thought of that. She had heard what could happen to women who became pregnant out of turn. The thought made her shudder.

“And not only that,” her mother was continuing, “What will this mean for your engagement? I can’t imagine how Joseph is going to react to the news of your being pregnant. But we will have to tell him and his family.”

Suddenly Mary felt like she was going to have a headache. This was getting to be too much. Were her short-lived dreams to be so quickly shattered? But she knew her mother was right. It was the only thing to do.

“Your father and I talked,” Anna went on. “We will invite Joseph to dinner tonight and break the news. There’s no sense putting it off. Better get it over with sooner than later,” she finished, looking at Mary as if expecting an answer 

Sometime Mary wished her mother wasn’t so practical. Mary nodded meekly. What else could she do. Arrangements had been made.

On one hand the day seemed to drag on forever. On the other, dinner couldn’t come soon enough. Being busy helping her mother prepare helped pass the time.

Eventually Mary heard the voices at the door that told her Joseph and her father had arrived. She approached the door and bowed as she greeted the men. Then their servant appeared to wash  Joseph and her father’s feet before they all sat down for dinner.

Mary guessed from the subdued nature of everyone’s behaviour and the lack of conversation that her father had said something to Joseph but she could only imagine what. She looked tentatively at the dark, curly haired young man across form her, wondering what was on his mind. She just wished she could take his hand and tell him everything was all right, was going to be alright. But could she? Was it going to be alright?

After eating in near silence her father finally leaned back, wiped his mouth and said, “Mary, I told Joseph you had some very important news for him, but I have not said anything more. I thought it best it came from you.”

Mary was taken aback. What? Her father wanted her to break the news to Joseph? What could she say? 

Sensing her fear, her father reached across and took her hand, “Mary, just tell him exactly what you told us last night. It will be alright.”

Mary knew her father was trying to reassure her but she was still panicking inside. She looked at her mother, whose only response was a subtle nod of agreement with her husband.

Mary gulped; this was all happening much too fast, but it seemed there was no alternative. She breathed a quick prayer to Jehovah for the right words to say, took a deep breath, and began.

Joseph’s eyes grew wider and wider as he listened. Sweat began to break out on his forehead and upper lip. Were his ears deceiving him? Beautiful, lovely Mary, pregnant? What would happen to them? To her? He didn’t want to think about it. He couldn’t imagine his fiancee being stoned by those who adhered strictly to their law if they found out. And how could they not? But that was the punishment for being pregnant outside of marriage.

It was all too much. Joseph jumped up and blurted out, “I don’t know what to do? I have to go. I have to tell my parents. I have to think about this.” He headed for the door, then quickly turned, “Joachim, Anna, thank you for dinner; thank you for everything.” Tears swelled up in his eyes as he looked at Mary and whispered, “Mary, I love you. I don’t want it to end this way.” And he was gone.

Joachim raced after him. Mary, rendered speechless by this, began to weep. Was this the end of her dreams? Anna took her in her arms and buried her face in Mary’s hair. “Oh, my daughter, what will become of this? What is going on?” 

They were both still sobbing when Joachim came back in. Seeing what was happening, he got down beside them and wrapped his strong arms around them both. It was all he could do to choke back his sobs, but he was able to say hoarsely, “I told Joseph not to be hasty, to think about this, to pray about it. He agreed he would, and let us know his decision about the future son enough.”

Mary nodded and began to dry her eyes. But how her heart ached.  

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?

Mary – Ch. 1 - Engagement

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

Mary walked into her home and set down the jug of water she had brought from the well. No one else was in the house so she assumed her mother Anna had gone to the market. She knew her father Joachim would be busy with his work. Quietly she slipped back out and quickly strode up the street toward the top of the hill. 

Ever since her parents had sat her down and told her they thought they had found a husband for her she had been restless.  It wasn’t the unease of wanting to find out the unknown, although there was an element of that. Her parents had told her they thought they had found a good match in a young man her father sometimes got work for among the citizens of Sepphoris. He had skills as a builder and that was a trade much in demand in the city. 

Mary had seen the young man when he had come looking for her father to inquire about a job prospect or to get directions to a waiting employer. He was a good enough looking fellow and Mary’s parents had told her was also a very devout Jew. That was important to Mary as her parents had also instilled in her a great love of their religion and the history of her people.

Now they had gone and completed the engagement arrangements and Mary knew they would soon be living together. She could hardly wait.

But Joseph, the man who had so recently entered Mary’s dreams, lived in Nazareth. Mary had seen Nazareth before; after all, it was only a few miles to the southeast across the valley. However, she had never really paid it any attention. No one much did. It really wasn’t known for anything.

As Mary’s mind played over the thoughts she had been entertaining ever since their engagement, she reached the top of the hill and slowly walked down the eastern slope to the edge of the city where the hill dropped away into the valley. She stood and gazed across the valley. Actually, one really could not see the buildings of the village, but even knowing they were just over the brow of the hill was enough. Her heart quickened as she thought that beyond the forest across from her might someday be her home.

Even though people often spoke derisively about Nazareth, Mary harboured no ill will towards it. She was a young woman who had learned to accept her lot in life and be satisfied with whatever Jehovah laid out for her. If she was to marry Joseph and move to Nazareth, she knew it would be alright. In fact, she might even like it better.

Sepphoris sometimes seemed like too worldly a place for Mary. There was so much that went on there that was really contrary to her faith as she understood it from her parents. Indeed, if it was not for the good job her father had gotten here, her parents had said they would never have moved here. They had come from Jerusalem just before she was born. Her father had become well enough known in his business that his reputation had landed him a job in this growing city. But her parents often talked about how the citizens of Sepphori often seemed like they were becoming too much like the Greeks and those unwelcome Romans. Furthermore, there was also hushed talk that she sometimes caught snatches of that suggested there was a growing unrest amongst some of the Jews. Mary’s parents sometimes seemed worried that some of the hot-headed Galileans who talked like this were going to cause them all trouble.  However, every day they simply prayed to Jehovah for his protection and provision and trusted that he would look after them.

Mary sighed and turned back towards home. When she entered her mother asked, “Where have you been child?” 

“I went for a little walk,” Mary replied. Never being one to hide the truth, she added shyly, “I went to the top of the hill to look at Nazareth.”

“Ah, child,” her mother responded, “If our prayers are answered, that will be your home soon enough. And to tell the truth, I will be glad for you to be away from this city. It’s not really a place I want to see my grandchildren grow up in. Of course, your father and I will miss you, but you won’t be far away.” 

“Come, help me prepare dinner. Your father will be home soon.” 

The evening flew by as Mary helped her mother, then joined her parents for dinner. Mary sometimes felt she was more blessed than others of her age. Since she was the only child, she got to eat with her father and mother both. In larger families, the males got served first, then the women got to eat. But Mary enjoyed the opportunity to talk with both of her parents. It was one way she got to learn things, as, being a girl, she could not go to the synagogue school.

After the meal was done and everything cleaned up, Anna said, “Come Mary, let’s start to take a look at what we have that will go into your dowry.”

Mary felt her pulse quicken again. She pinched herself mentally. Was this really happening to her?

That evening, as she said her prayers before lying down for the night, Mary thought her heart would burst. She had so much to be thankful for. She just felt so blessed.

Free Will in the New Earth

As Christians, our understanding from the teachings that have been passed on and from our Scriptures, the Bible, is that the new heaven and the new earth after the resurrection will be perfect places. We have also been taught through these same sources that the original creation was likely perfect, as God seems to have pronounced all of it good.

How this perfect creation then became so utterly marred is something we can see evidence of all around us. How that could happen to begin with is another story. So, who is to say that in the new heaven and new earth post-resurrection, which we often refer to as heaven, and this is one of those questions that one is sometimes hesitant to ask, the same thing could not happen again?

We were talking about these things in our LIFE Group yesterday evening when an answer to my question dawned on me. Thinking about it again this morning, I think it must have been a flash of insight implanted by the Holy Spirit.

Again, we are taught, and learn to know from our own experience as believers, that God is love. As imperfect as our experience and understanding of love is, we have now in our vocabulary something we understand as “unconditional” love. Like all good things, we believe this originates in the love of God, whom we believe created all things.

Most of us are fortunate enough to experience some of this love in one way or the other in our short pilgrimages on this earth. We know how wonderful that is. But what we experience here will pale in comparison, and we can only imagine what this would be like, to what we will experience when we are actually in the presence of God and he has removed all sin. Indeed, for those of us who believe in the death and resurrection work of Christ, our sin is removed now. However, we continue to live in an imperfect body and imperfect world. Only after the resurrection will that ultimately be changed for the better.

And therein lies my answer to the question I shared in the second paragraph of this blog.

Perfect love does not force anything. Perfect love seeks a voluntary and willing response to love offered. That is our position in response to the offered love of God, most perfectly expressed in the death and resurrection of the Christ, which, as I write, we will shortly be celebrating once again in the season we now call Easter. We who believe have voluntarily submitted our will to our Creator God. The only thing that keeps us from actualizing that submission perfectly now is our imperfect body and the imperfect world we still live in. However, when we are removed from that, and that is removed from us, we will be freed of the inability to respond as perfectly in love to God as how he offers us his love.

I believe this is why there will not be another rebellion in the new heaven and earth, as there was and is in this earth. At least, that is an answer that satisfies me at present. As always in this journey, one is open to further insights.