“Thinking with my mouth open” I muse about the humanity of the story of Mary and Joseph.

Here is the video link:

Christmas Chronicles Part 2 – Mary

As usual, the audio links for Spotify and iTunes is to the right.

Here is the transcript used for today’s podcast:

The Story

The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38)

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Mary Visits Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45)

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Mary’s Song, The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56)

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me — holy is his name.

His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.

He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.”

 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

An Angel Appears to Joseph (Matthew 1:18-25)

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” [Isaiah 7:14] — which means, “God with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The Birth of Jesus (Luke 2:1-7)

In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels (Luke 2:8-20)

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

The Visit of the Magi (Matthew 2:1-12)

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for out of you will come a ruler

who will be the shepherd of my people Israel’” [Micah 5:2].

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Escape to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-18)

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son” [Hosea 11:1].

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

weeping and great mourning,

Rachel weeping for her children

and refusing to be comforted,

because they are no more” [Jeremiah 31:15].

The Return to Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23)

After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets:

 “He will be called a Nazarene.”

(Luke 2:39-40)

When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

The Questions 

I am cursed… or blessed, if you will, with an inquisitive mind and an active imagination. As I have read the account of the Christmas birth of Messiah, the following questions have bubbled to the top. 

1.Why does Mary immediately leave to visit Elizabeth, an older relative after her conversation with Gabriel… she has just been visited by an angel…and this is no little thing. In fact, the arrival of Gabriel to Elizabeth’s husband (Luke 1:5-25) and later to Mary (Luke 1:26 and following) signaled the end to 400 silent years for Israel. God had not sent a prophet or an angel for 400 years. Certainly this young Jewish maiden would want o tell her family this news! Instead she runs to Elizabeth. Why? My inquiring mind wants to know. 

2. Why in the world would Joseph take a wife, 9 months pregnant, on a journey to Bethlehem? Especially as Edersheim states that as Joseph’s wife she was not required to make the journey. All that was required was for Joseph to represent his family. Would it not have made more sense to leave Mary, about to deliver a baby, with his family in Nazareth? In those days, it was customary for a husband to bring his wife with him back to his family’s home, where he has added onto his parent’s home. So Mary could have stayed with her mother-in-law and had the baby there, in the comfort and safety of home. So… why did you do that, Joseph? 

3. Why was there no room for them in Bethlehem? Especially for a woman ready to give birth? I know the simple answer was “there was no room in the inn”. But here goes my inquisitive little brain… “Excuse me, but isn’t Bethlehem their ancestral home? Is it THAT much of a stretch to think that surely SOME relative of Joseph or Mary lived in the area?” From what I have discovered from Edersheim’s book, familial hospitality was an important part of that culture, and when family comes to town, room is found for them. And surely, room for a young mother-to-be could be found, right? But the answer to that question is a simple no. Why? 

4. Why didn’t Joseph and Mary and Jesus return home immediately after their business was concluded? After Jesus is born, shepherds show up. And then the Magi. What needs to be realized here is that there is between one and two years gap between the two visits. This can be inferred from the cunning ways of Herod, who inquired of the Magi when they visited him looking for the King of the Jews. Based on the information provided, it appears Joseph and Mary were still in Bethlehem one to two years after the birth of Jesus. Why didn’t they go back to Nazareth? Surely it does not take one to two years to register for the census. And after the Magi visit and depart, Joseph is warned that Herod is going to do the unthinkable – try to kill Mary’s child, so he takes his new family and flees. Back to home? No. To Egypt. For another length of time, Joseph, Mary and Jesus stay away from their hometown. Why? 

5. One last question… this one deals with the OTHER end of the story of Jesus and Mary. In John’s gospel, chapter 19, verses 26 and 27, while on the cross, Jesus gives His mother, Mary, into the care of his beloved disciple, John. Wow – what a scene. But here is the elephant in the room for me. Where were Jesus’ siblings? Joseph and Mary had children together. Jesus had half-brothers. Where were they? What could have possibly happened to this family where the eldest brother could not expect his younger brothers to care for their mother? Why does Jesus have to give care of His mother to ANYONE other than the next eldest sibling in the family?

“Thinking with my mouth open…”

1. Why Did Mary immediately leave to visit Elizabeth?

The key to this whole discussion is found in the sentence “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child…” (Matthew 1:18). Mary is likely between 14 and 16 years of age, per customs of that day for betrothals. Now here is where I draw on my personal life experiences as a father, husband and teacher of Middle school and High School students. Move past the enormity of the angelic visitation for a moment, and let’s visit the humanity of Mary’s new situation. I can just picture, in my imagination, after the conversation with Gabriel, after Gabriel has left, Mary sitting down abruptly. She’s pregnant. Joseph’s not the father. And this in a time when adultery could be punished by stoning. Read John’s gospel for an example of this (John 8:1-11). At this very moment, I am envisioning one of my 15-year-old female students. And what she would do were she to find herself pregnant. Who could she tell? Who WOULD she tell? Probably not her father. As a father of a daughter now grown, were I to have found out that she was a pregnant 14 or 15 year old, I doubt if the initial conversation would have been a pleasant one. No, I am fairly certain I would not have been my daughter’s first stop. Perhaps the mother? Perhaps. At the very least it would most likely be another woman. In my experience as a father, husband and teacher, I have found when a woman experiences a traumatic event (and any 14 year old girl discovering she is pregnant is a traumatic event) many times they seek the company of another understanding woman. And that is what Mary does. She immediately leaves to visit her older relative, Elizabeth, who herself is experiencing a miracle birth of her own. If anyone would understand this whole “Angelic visitation” thing it would be Elizabeth. And I have no doubt Mary would want advice about how to navigate the deep waters she now found herself in… an engaged woman carrying a child whose father is someone other than Joseph, her betrothed. This brings sense to my first question as to why Mary rushed off to Elizabeth. She needed a confidant. She would have wanted confirmation that she wasn’t losing her mind about Gabriel and his message. And she was probably more than a little fearful of what the future would hold. She had to know that when the word got out about her being pregnant, her life would change forever – and probably not for the better. So….Mary goes to Elizabeth in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, staying for approximately three months before returning home (Luke 1:56 RSB), three months pregnant. 

This marks the beginning of the new reality for Mary. I do not know if she told Joseph first, or if her parents found out, or if she told her parents then Joseph – the gospel narrative is silent here. But no matter how it happened, from an outsider’s perspective she runs off to visit a relative, and returns three months later… pregnant. I know my first question would be, as her father: “Who is the father of this child?” What could she say? “God”? Nobody had heard from God for over 400 years. There was no prophet who could validate or examine her story. Her only options were to tell the truth – which no one would believe, to say nothing – which would only provide fodder for speculation and gossip – or to lie – perhaps saying she had been raped. I don’t picture her lying – her integrity as mentioned by Gabriel’s conversation with her leads me to believe that lying would be beneath her. Tell the truth or say nothing. In any case, Mary was doomed. And as she was for all intents and purposes the wife of Joseph, her fate was in his hands. And I wonder if this is also the reason no mention is made of Mary’s family in this story. The shame her pregnancy would bring on her family would be great. I cannot help but wonder if their reaction to her pregnancy was less than forgiving. I do not know. But again – my fertile imagination can easily imagine the tension in that household. Which leads us to Joseph and his response. 

2. Why did Joseph take his wife who is 9 month’s pregnant to Bethlehem?

Matthew 1:19-20 (RSB) tells us a few things. Joseph was a just man – not willing to put her to shame i.e. make a public spectacle of her apparent shameful “activities”. He was afraid to take her as his wife until Gabriel appeared, informing him of the truth of the matter. This was probably more than fine with her family, as this would make her Joseph’s problem and remove her from her family’s circle. So immediately after Gabriel’s visit with Joseph, Joseph and Mary became husband and wife. So…… why exactly DID Joseph take his wife, nine months pregnant, on the trip to Bethlehem? Same core answer. Mary was pregnant. With somebody else’s child. According to Edersheim, she COULD have stayed home letting Joseph represent her in the census. But what would life have been like for Mary at home without Joseph? Her family was shamed. Joseph’s family by virtue of the fact that he had married Mary was shamed. It makes perfect sense for a husband to want to protect his wife from the possible vitriol of an angry Mother-in-Law. So Mary accompanies Joseph to Bethlehem. 

3. Why was there no room at the inn? 

The quick answer is – the town was crowded – all rooms were taken. Here is where we have to once again look a little deeper. In that culture and in that time, if a relative came to town and needed a place to stay, you made room for them. If all you had to offer was a place on the floor to spread their sleeping mat, so be it. Bethlehem was the ancestral town for the lineage of David. Joseph and Mary were both of the lineage of David. There would have been relatives in and around that city. And yet – Joseph and Mary could find no room. Why? Because she was pregnant with a child that was not Joseph’s. Think about the timeline a minute. Mary returns from her visit with Elizabeth three months pregnant. Sometime between then and the trip to Bethlehem (approximately 6 months if my “old math” is correct) Joseph marries her. That six-month window would provide plenty of time for word to spread about Mary and her “condition”. You have to at least concede the possibility that one reason for their having to stay in a stable could have been the shame attached to Mary and Joseph. There is nothing so devastating nor viral as gossip and innuendo. 

4.  Why didn’t Joseph and Mary and Jesus return home immediately after their business was concluded?

The shepherds come. The shepherds go. Between one and two years later the Magi show up. Wait- back up a second. Why are Joseph and his family STILL in Bethlehem one to two years later? Surely it doesn’t take one to two years to get registered for this census. Why didn’t they return to Nazareth? Perhaps for the same reason Joseph took Mary with him in the first place. Life in Nazareth would not have been good for them. The wounds were still fresh. Joseph and Mary knew the truth. But to everyone else Jesus was the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier and a Jewish maid. After the Magi depart, Joseph and his family flee to Egypt for a time to escape the wrath of Herod. When they hear of Herod dying, they wanted to settle in Judea, but as Herod’s son was ruling there, Joseph took Mary and Jesus back to Nazareth. By now it had been three to five years since they had left. Perhaps things had quieted down enough to be tolerable for Mary. 

5. At the Cross

Jump forward about 30+ years. Jesus is being crucified. At the foot of the cross is Mary, His mother, and several of His disciples. Jesus indicates John and tells Mary “Behold your son”. He then tells John “Behold your mother!” Where were Jesus’ half brothers? Mary and Joseph had other children. Why weren’t one of THEM stepping forward to take care of Mary? Is it possible, that after the family returned to Nazareth, and as the other children grew up there that they began to “learn the truth” about Mary and Jesus? Is it possible that their relationship with Mary was strained in later years because of all that? So much so that when their eldest half-brother Jesus was being crucified, they stayed away from that shameful event? Is it at least plausible that over the years, they distanced themselves from Mary because of her “sordid past”? Jesus apparently knew none of THEM were going to step up and take care of Mary after He was gone. 

Conclusion

I know much of this is conjecture… but it is the kind of thing that happens when I start to “think with my mouth open”.  I believe we as believers sometimes tend to forget the humanity of the Christmas story. I know I, for years, accepted the story (for the record, I still do) of the Incarnation without giving thought to the circumstances God used to push this story to its conclusion. It was no easy thing – the life Jesus lived in order to deliver us from sin. And it was no easy thing – the decisions Mary and Joseph made in order to complete THEIR part in this story.

Do you get it? Do you see why my admiration of Mary has grown so much these last years as I have pondered all of this? Mary had to have known some (if not all) of what she was letting herself in for when she was met by Gabriel.

God called her to an incredible adventure. He called her to pay an incredible price. Mary was an incredible young lady. The centerpiece of Christmas is indeed the birth of our Savior, as it should be. But Mary deserves a place of honor as well. This Protestant will indeed be thinking of Mary this Holiday season. The mother of our Lord sacrificed all to walk in obedience to God. After Gabriel left her, she HAD to have known what her acquiescence meant and the price she would have to pay – a lifetime of the world misunderstanding her, Joseph, and Jesus. 

May it be possible that I have a fraction of the courage of this young Jewish maiden named Mary when God calls me to MY next adventure. 

Merry Christmas!

Paige