Categories: uncategorized
Date: 18 December 2006 10:20:46
I've been reflecting upon the Chrimbo story and how Mary would have felt. I guess my sub-conscious was prompted into this by seeing a trailor for The Nativity Story , but I wonder how far even that is likely to go. Here is my (briefish) version of the story - based on what I've picked up over the years.
Once upon a time there was a young woman, probably in her early to mid teens, who was betrothed to be married to a slightly older man who was a carpenter.
Before the actual marriage, and whilst she was still a virgin, God sent an angel to this young woman, who knew her Torah well & said she was to have a baby, who would be the Messiah and she was to name him Jesus. At this point, the young woman who had been terrified at the sight of the angel (& one has had to have been in a pretty awful situation to be able to identify with that level of fear) calms down, (possibly because she is now in shock) and then starts to praise God. (The reality of what all this means, has still not hit her).
Once Joseph (the guy she is betrothed to) finds out he feels sorry for her getting into this situation, but really can't be doing with that kind of scandal (& so plans to break it all off quietly). However, God comes to him in a dream, (which must have been some dream cause it was enough to make him change his mind) & he becomes father to this child which isn't his & he knows it will be difficult to pass of as his, if he is also to pass off as a good moral Jew (they're quite good at maths in his community).
Anyway Mary (the girl) has been shipped off by Joseph and her parents to her cousin Elizabeth, who is also expecting so (i) she can get a few baby tips & (ii) they can keep her out of the way of the local gossips just for a bit.
Then the scandal is overshaddowed by a much bigger story though, there is a census and they have to go and register in the ansestorial town. Well, by this time she is hitched to Joseph and heavily pregnant & they're off to Bethlehem. Thing is they would have been travelling in a large family group, plenty of relatives around, but Mary wouldn't have been too welcome. By this point the fact she was "with child" and had been for slightly longer than the wedding was noticeable to all & so can you imagine the comments she would have probably been subjected to hearing on that journey about herself.
The attitude of Joseph's family must be clear by the fact this heavily pregnant woman wasn't welcomed into the homes of any of the extended family Joseph would probably have had in Bethlehem & none of the family was willing to give up their accomodation for the couple (despite the fact she was obviously due at any moment). So at this point the couple were homeless, unable to even book into an inn because the whole town was overflowing with people. After a while though they were offered a place, in a stable with the animals. The stench and everything must have been overpowering and Mary must have been thinking that God was having a bit of laugh with her, I guess.
Anyway the baby is born & Mary, who must have been exhausted after the birth & worrying about how they are going to look after the baby & stop it from getting ill. Afterall she would have known others whose babies had died at birth or soon afterwards from infections and the like. Then though, the local shepherds arrive; the occupation with least social status and probably least social graces, (when all she would have wanted would be her mum or something). They're talking about angels and stuff (& it was only upon checking their breath that they would have been sure they weren't on the cheap wine), but they brought a lamb as a gift and were treating her like an honoured person & so she welcomed them. At this point Mary and Joseph were probably just relieved somebody, anybody was happy about the birth and had evidence that may point to their experiences a few months ago in Nazareth not being an attack of shared dillusions. Also the lambs coat (assuming it was slaughtered soon afterwards) would provide a blanket for the baby.
It seems that after the census Mary and Joseph may not have returned straight away to Nazareth, but rather stayed in Bethlehem. We don't know if this is because in an effort to support his wife and new baby Joseph had got a job there, or whether it was Mary was terrified the new baby would die on the journey home, or rather it was because the memory of the comments from the small community were still raw & they couldn't face going back to it & so wanted to stay in the city, where the sheperds and inn keeper with the stable had atleast been kind to them. Whichever, they stayed and made friends. Mary would have met other young mums with similar aged boys as she went to get water and conducted the everyday domestic tasks.
Then everything changed; these three wise men turned up with gifts for the baby. They knew he was the messiah, but had messed up slightly and gone to the palace first of all (taking their eyes off the star and going for the logical conclusion). Well Herod, (the King at the time and just a little paranoid, as you would be if you were living under Roman occupation in a politically unstable climate) got in a state, but also got educated. It was awful he learnt enough to decide that what he needed to do was kill every boy under two years of age. Well Joseph and the wise men were warned in a dream what was happening and so were able to flee, in the dead of night, (it helped they had some gold to bribe the guards they came across).
Still it did their heads in as Mary and Joseph, these refugees, reflected on the fact that all these innocent children were being murdered by a mad king but all because of their son. Jesus was the threat, they knew that, yet they couldn't, wouldn't sacrifice him to save the lives of the others. It tore them apart as Mary thought of the children, sons of their friends and families; toddlers Jesus had just started to play with, who were being massacured & the way those parents would never see their children grow up. She didn't understand it, how could God allow it & why did God keep allowing it (after all it had been similar with Moses), was there really a God, or what? Nothing made sense anymore.
In the end after a little while in exile they went back to Nazareth. There would be less fuss now, just relief that they had survived. After everything they just wanted their families, they hadn't been able to settle in Egypt, they were the forigners; despised, accused of taking work from the locals and the customs they were all different. They couldn't bring Jesus up to be a good Jew there & Mary, well the effect of everything took it's toll on Mary, she wasn't quite herself for a while & Joseph knew he needed to get her home to mum. Perhaps she could do something with this girl who had been through so much, particularly now the family was growing.