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The Mother of God Jay Mason
Smiling Madonna
Anne and Mary
The Mother of God
Luke 1:28
By Jay Mason
Christmas is here again. As we prepare in Advent for the coming of Christ, I was reflecting on what it must have been like to be the Mother of God. Last fall, Kitty and I traced the footsteps of St. Paul in Greece and Turkey and then went back to the Holy Land. Along the way we learned some interesting facts about Mary.
Mary was the daughter of Joachim and Anne. The parents are not mentioned in Scripture, but the Christian tradition indicates that Joachim and Anne were respected members of the Jewish community in Jerusalem. Today you can visit a church, St. Anne, just outside the Lion’s Gate of Jerusalem in a place called Bethsaida. It is the place with a well where Jesus performed a miracle. The church itself is built on the place where Mary was born. You can see the cave of her birth if you go into the crypt under the church. The most striking thing about the church for me was the statute of St. Anne and Mary. There are very few depictions of this most famous mother and daughter.
Mary’s house Ampitheater
Just think what it must have been like to raise the daughter who would carry the Son of God in her womb.
Just a few miles from there outside of Jerusalem in the Judean hills is the house of Elizabeth. You remember from the Bible that Mary went to Elizabeth’s house to visit her during her pregnancy. By then Mary lived in Nazareth and was betrothed to Joseph. The angel Gabriel appeared to her and told her that Elizabeth would have a child even though she was older, and more importantly, Mary herself would also become pregnant. “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High.” When Mary approached her cousin for a visit, Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, leapt in her womb. The amazing thing is these places where the Angel Gabriel appeared and where Mary visited Elizabeth still exist today. It is not a fairy tale; these places are real. You can go there and thank God for sending his Son to us two thousand years ago.
Should you go to the Holy Land, you must visit Bethlehem. It is located in the West Bank and only a few miles from Jerusalem. The Church of the Nativity is built over the birthplace (cave) of Christ. The idea that Christ was born in a wooden stable comes from Hollywood not the Holy Land. Israel is the land of caves, and Bethlehem is no different. As a Christian child, you also learn that there was no room for Mary and Joseph at the inn. On this trip I learned that a Jewish innkeeper would have refused entrance to Mary and Joseph even if he had a room because Mary was nine months pregnant. If Mary gave birth to Jesus in his inn, the room would have to be purified for 30-45 days under Jewish law and could not be rented. Thus, that it is another reason that Christ was born in a cave. If you get the chance to visit Bethlehem, take it.
I have only had to fight my way into church twice in my lifetime; once at the shrine of Padre Pio in Italy and last September in Bethlehem. Christians from all over the world at first patiently waited their turn to enter the crypt and place their hand on the place where Christ was born. But when eight lanes of people were reduced to two to enter the crypt, the pushing and shoving began. No one was hurt, but it was an adventure.
The two most peaceful times in Mary’s life that we know about were probably at the birth of Christ and later after the death of Christ. Just as you enter the crypt in Bethlehem, there is an icon of the Mother and Child with Mary smiling. This is very unusual for ancient icons, but it must have been a happy moment for the Mother of God. According to the Bible, Mary was entrusted to St. John after Jesus was crucified. In our time no one knew for sure just exactly where that was. Church historians knew that John was the last of the apostles to die and that he lived near Ephesus and Patmos. As we traced the footsteps of St. Paul, we visited Ephesus which is now in Turkey. It is the largest Christian archaeological site in the world. Just outside of Ephesus, where Paul preached, and John lived, there is a place now called Mary’s house. It is located in a forested area and is visited by Muslims and Christians on pilgrimage. Mary (Merriam) is recognized by Muslims as a holy person, and a chapter of the Koran is dedicated to her. It is interesting how this place was discovered.
A devout nun in Germany began to have visions about Mary and St. John in the late 18th century. Her name was Sr. Catherine Emmerich. In her visions, which were later written down, she described the place where Mary and John lived. She had never been to Ephesus; she was bedridden most of her life. After her death two priests used her descriptions and travelled to Ephesus to look for the place. They found Mary’s house. It has now been declared a holy site. Several popes, including John Paul II, have visited the house. It is very quiet and peaceful there. Many local Christians and Muslims have considered this place a sacred site for over a thousand years.
Christmas comes every year. It is a part of our culture. The modern world tries to transform it into a shopping spree. But Christians know what the holiday truly means and how important it is for families to celebrate their own traditions regarding the Christ Child and to remember Mary and the Holy Family from so long ago.
Merry Christmas!
