Mary: Mother of Jesus

Some believe Mary, the mother of Jesus, was born in Jerusalem, the daughter of Ann and Joachim. Others believe she was born in Nazareth. An ancient record points to the town of Sepphoris as her birth place. It is located a few miles from Nazareth.

Wherever she was born, Mary's life unfolded in the strict Jewish town of Nazareth, in the hills of Galilee. The Jews were strong and robust. The climate was dry. The people never knew if there would be enough rain, or if locusts would destroy their crops. These certainties made the people of Galilee closer and more hard working. The struggle to make a living strengthened their faith and deepened their religious spirit. They learned to always depend on God.

Mary lived in rural Galilee in a house made of mud-brick and stone. She passed the days with hard work. She prepared meals of beans, vegetables, eggs, figs and, on occasion, mutton. She had no modern conveniences. She ground barley and wheat into flour, turned wool into clothing, fed donkeys and chickens and helped care for the children of the village. Each day water had to be carried in large jars from the village well for cooking, washing and drinking. (The well is still used today to supply Nazareth with water. It is called "Mary's Well.") Women met at the well to talk and trade. They knew that cleanliness prevented disease. Therefore, frequent washing was a part of their religion.

In October, when the rains came, Mary could be found sowing wheat in the fields. If all went well, the crop would be harvested in May.

In September, Mary and her family would knock the olives from the trees, then press them to make oil for lamps and cooking. Figs were picked in May and June. Grapes were harvested in September. Often, God blessed the people of Galilee with bountiful crops, but they were faithful in their prayers, praise and thanksgiving.

Mary learned about life from the people of Nazareth. Strangers seldom visited the town. It lacked wealth, culture and learning, but was rich in life. Mary saw children born, celebrated the holidays of her people and attended marriages and funerals. Mary lived with joy and sorrow. From these she learned life's greatest lessons.

Mary had a strong faith. Moral standards in Nazareth were high. In a society where men were most important, she would only be recognized as a homemaker, wife and mother. When she was still in her teens, her parents betrothed her to Joseph, a carpenter. After the engagement took place, she returned home to wait a year before going to live with her husband.

Shortly after she was betrothed, the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary. He told her she would bear a son conceived of the Holy Spirit. He would be the Son of God and Mary would experience a Virgin Birth. The angel's message changed Mary's life drastically.

Once the angel had left, Mary faced some troubling questions. Would Joseph still accept her as his wife? She had conceived a child that was not his. If he divorced her, she and her family would be shamed. How would she explain her pregnancy to him? But she need not have worried. An angel appeared to Joseph and told him that Mary had been impregnated by the Holy Spirit. When he awoke, Joseph took Mary to his home to be his wife.

Three months after the angel, Gabriel, appeared to Mary, she went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was elderly, the wife of a Priest. She had also had a visit from an angel, who told her that she too would bear a son. His name would be John. (He would eventually baptize Jesus and become known as John the Baptist.) Mary stayed with Elizabeth three months. Six months later, Jesus was born.

Eight days after Jesus' birth, Mary and Joseph had him circumsised, as Jewish law required. After forty days, they took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to consecrate Him to God. Then, they fled home by way of Egypt, because they had learned the King Herod wanted Jesus killed.

Mary would have continued her work as housewife and mother. Then, when Jesus was twelve, she and Joseph took him to Jerusalem for the Passover. When they left for home, they assumed that He was with the caravan. After a day's journey, they realized Jesus was missing. Fear must have gripped Mary's heart for the next three days. She and Joseph finally found Jesus in the temple listening and asking questions of the priests. Mary must have been ecstatic to know that her Son was safe.

We don't hear much of Jesus for many years. Mary would have been teaching Him the Jewish faith and the ways of Nazareth. She taught Him the ways of the human heart. Joseph taught Him the skills of a carpenter.

Joseph's death left Mary a widow and single mother. She was devoted to Jesus, but had other children to raise. She kept her faith and had no idea of Jesus' destiny. No angels appeared to give her guidance. However, Mary's influence appeared in Jesus' teachings when His public life began. He valued family life and had rich memories of His childhood in Nazareth.

Jesus stayed with His family until He was thirty. Mary must have sensed that the years of having Jesus with her were at an end. His teachings of God's Word caused Him to be rejected by His own people. As it would with any mother, His rejection caused Mary great sorrow. It was as if a sword had pierced her heart.

Mary's only role in Jesus' ministry was that of believer. She remained at a distance, receiving news of Jesus' miracles from others. Mary soon realized her Son had powerful enemies, who wished to destroy Him.

When Jesus and His disciples went to Jerusalem for Passover, Mary followed Him. She knew He was in great danger and, like all mothers, wished to protect Him if possible.

How did Mary survive the tragic days when they arrested and crucified Jesus? She probably stood beside the road as Jesus passed by, carrying the Cross, with a crown of thorns digging into His scalp. When His disciples fled, she stood quietly by watching the prophecies being fulfilled. She must have felt an overpowering sense of helplessness as they nailed her Son to the Cross. She knelt at the foot of the Cross as He hung dying. She took His body in her arms when they took it from the Cross. We can only imagine the horror she must have felt. Not only because her Son was dead, but because of the torture and pain inflicted upon Him.

Mary's cries of grief turned into cries of joy when she realized that His promise of rising from the dead had been fulfilled. She waited with the Apostles for the Holy Spirit. She had a special place among His followers. From the Cross, Jesus had given her His Church as a mother for all ages.

After Jesus' death, Mary is not mentioned. Therefore, we do not know the circumstances of her death. She may have lived with the Apostle John. She may have died in Jerusalem. Another tradition places her in the City of Ephesus at the time of her death. Wherever she died, it is apparent she was reunited with her Son. Her faith never faltered through all of her burdens and sorrows. She is a great woman of history and an inspiration to us all.

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