Jesus' Mother
March 10th 2008 00:50
Jesus' mother
Mary looked up at the young lady who was approaching the gate. “Hello, Friend,” she began. “What’s the rush?”
The stranger stopped, eyes widening, and bowed toward Mary. “Are you Mother Mary?” she asked.
Smiling, Mary responded, “I’m not sure what you mean by the term ‘Mother Mary’. My name is Mary, and I am the mother of several children. There are other women in this village with the same name, however. Tell me more about the ‘Mary’ that you are looking for.”
“I’m looking for the mother of God,” the stranger answered. “I heard she lives here in this area, and I know that her given name is Mary.”
Laughing but being careful to not appear to be mocking the stranger standing at her back gate, Mary corrected her. “My dear friend, I don’t believe that God has a mother. He’s always existed and did not have any beginning. Therefore, I don’t see how He could have had a mother.” Walking toward the gate and opening it, Mary offered, “Please come inside and have some rest. I can offer you some grape juice that I just squeezed this morning.”
The stranger timidly entered the gate and walked toward the back door of Mary’s little house. Mary led her inside where a middle aged man was sitting on a mat.
“John, this is…Oh, I think I did not get your name, young lady,” began Mary. “Well, anyhow, my name is Mary, and this is my foster son, John.”
“I’m sorry, Mother Mary,” said the stranger. “I should have introduced myself earlier. My name is Junia. I am so elated to meet you, Mother Mary. Also, you, John.”
“What is the purpose you have for looking for someone named Mary, Junia?” asked the older woman. “Do you have a message for her, perhaps?”
“Forgive me, Mother. I should be on my knees before you. It is so improper of me to be standing in your presence,” Junia confessed.
Waving her hand in a dismissing gesture, Mary said, “Why, child? I’m just another human, just as you are. Please take a seat here beside me, and we can talk.” Looking toward John, Mary said, “Could you bring her some grape juice, Son?”
John genially replied, “Of course, Mother.” He went toward another part of the house to bring a refreshing drink for their guest.
Keeping her eyes lowered while sipping the grape juice, Junia nevertheless absorbed some of the atmosphere of the little home and the attitudes of the people who lived in it.
Mary kept the atmosphere friendly and open by making small talk while waiting for their guest to begin to open up and share the purpose of her visit. She learned that Junia had some family members in Rome and that she had been to Rome a couple of times and hoped to return there sometime to live. She learned that Junia was not yet married, a rather unusual state for a young lady in her early twenties. Still, Mary did not probe into that area of Junia’s life.
After Junia seemed less excited, Mary said, “Let me be more forthright, Junia. Am I the woman you were seeking?”
“If you are Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth, I have found the person I was looking for,” Junia confided. “Is that who you are?”
“Yes, you have found me,” Mary said with a warm smile. “Everyone in this town seems to know who I am so I’m not surprised at your success in getting my attention. Now, what is your purpose here?”
Upon hearing that news, Junia fell to her knees before Mary. “Oh, Blessed Mother, I’m so unworthy to be near you.”
“I’m as unworthy as anyone on Earth can be,” corrected Mary. “I recall when a stranger came to me about thirty-seven years ago. He told me that I was going to have a child. When I told him that I was not married and not living a vulgar life style, the stranger told me that I was chosen for that very reason. He told me that he needed a clean woman, a virgin, to become the mother of a special child, the Messiah.” Mary paused, looked at Junia kneeling before her. She took Junia by the shoulders and forced her to stand. Looking into Junia’s eyes, Mary added, “When that stranger told me such news, I also felt quite unworthy. You and I are very much alike, Junia.”
John smiled in agreement when Junia glanced in his direction. “I, too, feel unworthy,” he said. “Why Jesus chose me to be among the twelve chosen disciples, and why the church chose me after Pentecost to become one of the twelve apostles, these are overwhelming thoughts to me.”
With questioning eyes, Junia looked at these two people who had shared so much time with Jesus. She finally put into words the problems she was trying to answer. “Both of you were intimately involved in His life. You both were able to talk to Him and enjoy meals with Him, to share your thoughts with him. Yet, you are both acting as if He was just someone instead of the most special person the world has ever known. How can that be? Isn’t Jesus special to you at all?”
“Absolutely, yes!” Mary resounded. “He was more than a son to me. I have other children, even other sons. Of course, I love all my children. However, God simply used me to bring Jesus into His earthly life. Therefore, Jesus is not the same as James or any of my other children. They are the offspring of me and my late husband, Joseph. Jesus was, and still is, the Son of God. Jesus did not come to Earth to be considered my son. He came to Earth to become my Savior. That’s much more important than being my son. I hope you can understand my point of view, Junia. I needed a Savior just as much as anyone else. I had sins in my life, just as everyone else has had.”
John joined in. “We are all like sheep which wondered away from the flock. We all needed someone to save us from being lost forever. Jesus came for that reason, to rescue all humanity from our sinful tendencies. He came to be our Savior. That’s much more than being our friend.”
Junia asked, “Wasn’t He your friend, John?”
“Certainly. He was and still is my very best friend,” John responded. “But I’m not talking about the many hours we spent together during his short three year ministry. I’m referring to the daily walk together that we still have. I and Jesus spend a lot of time together, even now that He is no longer physically present.”
Mary was trying to understand the viewpoint of Junia, her visitor. Was she wanting to find a person to worship, someone here on Earth? Was she already a follower of the Christian way? She ventured some questioning to try to discover answers.
“May I ask you something, Junia?” Mary began.
“Of course, Holy Mother. You can ask me anything,” Junia obligingly answered.
“First of all, please refrain from using that term with me, the term about Holy Mother. It does not fit me at all.” Mary reprimanded while Junia’s eyes lowered in contrition. “May I ask where you came from, just before you came here?”
“Antioch, Hol……er….um .. Mary.”
“So you are quite aware of the term ‘Christian’, correct?” asked Mary.
“Yes, it’s a rather new word but becoming common in Antioch,” Junia replied.
“Of course, the believers in Jesus had been referred to as ‘Christians’ in Antioch first. Now, the term is becoming more common all over Asia,” Mary added. “Now, does the term ‘Christian’ seem to describe you, Junia?”
“Uh, I think so, Mary. I want to be one of them.”
John entered the conversation. “I think you are honest about wanting to be a Christian. However, it’s possible that you have some kind of incorrect ideas about it. Try to see the Christian life as spiritual more than physical or material.”
“Well, all right,” she tried to agree. “Still, we are living in a material and physical world. That being true, we sometimes have material or physical problems to deal with.”
Eyes brightening with sudden understanding, Mary guessed, “That’s why you are here, isn’t it? You want some kind of material or physical problem solved.”
Junia would not look into the face of Mary. She confessed, “I came to find the mother of God. I have found that you are that person. I came to beg for you to ask your Son to do something for me, not exactly for me, but for my sister.”
Mary became a bit more stern upon hearing this. “Junia, I learned a lesson several years ago. It’s a lesson about trying to manipulate Jesus. I vowed within myself to never try to do that again.”
John asked Mary, “Is that when we all were invited to a wedding in Cana?”
“That’s right, John,” Mary answered. “See, I was invited to this marriage feast. Also, Jesus and most of His disciples were also invited. When we got there, the father of the bride came to me to report that they were out of drinks for the wedding guests. He wanted me to ask Jesus to make some miracle happen so that they would not be embarrassed at being so poorly prepared for the feast.”
John looked toward Junia, saying, “See, this is a material need, a shortage of drinks.”
Junia nodded agreement and listened as Mary continued. “I came to Jesus to tell Him about the problem of shortage of drinks.” Looking upward as if trying to recall the expression that Jesus had on His face at that time, Mary finally continued, “I will never forget the way that Jesus looked at me when I asked Him for a miracle. Also, His words reprimanded me strongly. Clearly, He was very displeased that I would be so bold as to use my position as His earthly mother to try to manipulate Him.”
There was silence, unpleasant and awkward silence, for a few minutes.
Junia finally broke the silence. “How can I get the message to Jesus that my sister seems to be dying? If I understand the point of your last statement, you will not ask Him for a miracle for my sister.”
“That’s true,” agreed Mary. “I will never again try to be a go-between for someone wanting something from Him. Actually, I am sure that Jesus sees me now as other women. I feel sure that He does not see me as the “Mother of God” as some sects seem to think of me. I need a Savior just as much as anyone else. I have no clout, no special power to influence God. I’m another woman that Jesus came to Earth to save from sin.”
John tried to soften the message a bit. “I suspect that you came here to ask Mary to ask her Son to do this miracle for your sister. I suspect that you expected Jesus to yield to whatever Mary would ask. You need to view the relationship between Mary and Jesus in a different light. God intended Mary to be a vessel that He would use to give Jesus an entrance into human life. God did not intend for Mary to have any special powers or any special influence in God’s plan for mankind by becoming a high priestess.”
“Exactly!” Mary chimed in. “I’m not a priest. Now that Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He is our priest. You must come to God yourself concerning your requests.”
“All right, I will do that, pray to God myself instead of trying to use Mary, the mother of Jesus, for leverage,” Junia promised.
“Bless your heart,” consoled Mary, giving Junia a hug.
“Could I ask you one more thing, Mary?” Junia timidly asked.
“Of course.”
“What did He look like, your son, Jesus? Was He the most handsome man around?”
Smiling, Mary answered, “Well, mothers usually think that their children are better looking and smarter than the children of other people. Actually, though, Jesus was quite average in appearance. Possibly another of my sons was as good-looking, maybe even more handsome. It’s really hard to say.”
John added, “You remember that the prophet Isaiah told us, centuries before Jesus was born, that He would have no form or comeliness to make Him more attractive or no beauty to make us desire Him. That’s found in Isaiah chapter 53.”
Mary’s eyes were tearing up, though. “In my heart, Jesus is altogether lovely. It’s because He brought me into a right relationship with my heavenly Father. Jesus’ beauty, to me, has nothing to do with being my son. It has everything to do with being my Savior.”
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Comment by S.L. Bradish
Happy Easter! There's a new blogger on Orble that could use a few kind words from you, if you wouldn't mind. TBT uses only Bible quotes to make points and is getting a really bad time from some of the others.
Thanks!
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