Advent - The Woman

Mary is usually thought of as a young woman, probably in her teens. She was engaged to be married to Joseph. She was part of a typical large Jewish family. Elizabeth was her elderly relative, perhaps an aunt or a cousin. Life was normal.

Then Gabriel appeared on the scene.

She was afraid, and no doubt that trepidation continued throughout her life. If Jesus was to be who Gabriel said he was to be, then what would happen to him, and what would happen to her.

It’s hard enough today, when young women get pregnant before they have even chosen their life-partner.

What will my parents say? What will my boy-friend say? What will my friends say? What will my neighbours say? What will the minister say? (Maybe that question doesn’t get asked so often these days!).

At least nowadays single mums have access to many more options than in Mary’s day.

Mary went to stay with Elizabeth. And it must have been a tremendous relief to Mary when Elizabeth prophesied about Mary’s baby growing in her womb.

Yet life continued, and continued to be hard. Mary & Joseph were travelling and only just reached Bethlehem before she went into labour.

It was not long afterwards when the couple were warned to flee to Egypt. When it was safe they then returned to Nazareth to live.

All that travelling was undertaken in the hardships of the day. There were no planes, trains, or cars. They could only take what they could load onto a donkey train.

As a builder Joseph would be able to make a living, but not a grand living.

As Jesus grew up he too learned the trade and became a builder.

Often our English translations describe Jesus as a carpenter, but the Greek word, τεκτων (tekton), also means a builder. Paul is described as a master-builder, an αρχιτεκτων (arcitekton), a first-builder, master-builder, from which we get the word architect! Just think how many of Jesus’ stories were about stones or builders.

Looking after the house for a family of builders would not be an easy task. Dust, dirt, dirty clothes, torn clothes, huge appetites, boisterous behaviour, and who knows what else.

No doubt about it, Mary’s life would have been a hard one.

And when Jesus’ ministry started at the age of 30, Mary was already on her own.

Jesus, as first-born, had been head of the household after Joseph’s death. But now Jesus too had gone away, and another brother would have taken on that responsibility.

And Mary had to cope with her worry about what would happen to Jesus. He had given up a respectable job, if not a high-earning job, and now he had become a wandering rabbi with no regular income. Anything could happen to him. Huge crowds surrounded him.

Controversy surged through the gossip-tellers. Conflict with the religious authorities, and potentially the Romans too. Who knows where it would all end.

And end it did. Jesus’ life began in the crudest of circumstances, born in a stable, and laid in a manger. At his death he had nothing. Even his clothes were distributed amongst the soldiers.

And Mary was once more cast into the care of another - this time one of Jesus’ disciples, John.

Jesus and Mary loved each other, all the way to the bitter end.

It must have been even more confusing and upsetting for Mary when stories of Jesus resurrection began to circulate. But she treasured up all her memories and stories about Jesus and passed them on to his friends and eventually the gospel-writers.

So we know the story today, of the birth in a stable, the visit of the shepherds, and the Wise Men, or Magi.

No wonder Mary is treasured by so many Christians throughout the ages.

But she was only human, not divine. The mother of God, but not God herself. So it is Jesus that we worship, and not Mary, despite the respect that we may have for all that she accomplished.