As we consider the mother of Jesus, we need to have a discussion about Mary. 

 

Mary is said to have been visited by the angel of the Lord and informed that she was the chosen of God to mother his son.  That the Holy Spirit would com upon her and she would conceive the Son of God,Jesus.  This coincided with the prophecy of Isaiah and would provide for the virgin birth.

 

But what do we know about Mary?  For my entire life, starting in Sunday school, I learned that Mary was a young girl maybe of the age of 14 or 15.  While this may seem disturbing today, the age is based on historical records that showed this was a typical age for marriage during the time period. 

 

But as I have explored this further, I have come to disagree with this.  In order to follow my ideas around this, one must read beyond the nativity story and venture throughout the life of Jesus and watch Mary’s interactions with Jesus during the time of his life.

 

As I have done this over the years, I started to think that the Character of the mother of Jesus had to be more mature than a 15 year old. So lets explore Mary through a different level of consideration.

 

First, Jesus had to be born of a woman.  Not only to fulfil the Virgin aspect, but, for Jesus. In order for Jesus to sit on David’s throne, Jesus needed to be Jewish, for he would be seen as the savior of the Nation of Israel.  And the Jewish blood line only passes through the mother, not the father. 

 

But beyond that the consideration of a more mature Mary becomes more evident.

 

Mary had to be well versed in the Jewish life.  She was going to the mother of Jesus, she had to know the Jewish customs and understand her place in the Jewish society. 

 

Additionally, she had to have wisdom.  As the mother of Jesus, she would encounter lots of questioning and objection.  She had to be able to fully stand her ground as necessary.  Not necessarily to defend Jesus, but stand strong that she was the chosen mother of Jesus and know how to navigate that terrain.

 

Mary also needed to be confidently humble.  Given the law had been established, this was not news that would be openly shared.  It had to be kept quiet.  Claiming to be the Mother of the Son of God which had not yet been born would have been considered Blasphemy under the law and punishable by death.

 

But most importantly, she had to be strong, early.  The birth of Jesus would come with a lot of demands and attention. She would need to be able to travel at a moment's notice. 

 

She would need to be able to keep quiet. Not because of her place in society, but because she was the mother of Jesus. Many times as things happened, the scriptures state that she Kept these things in her heart. Why? My beleif is that as the things unfolded, she kept them quiet in order to ponder them and prepare for the future.

 

I have often thought about how Jesus Grew did Mary see him as the son of God or as a child growing up.  I bring this to a point given that she seemed to keep “these things” to herself, she held them close.

 

Today, I see Mary as a mature, confident, strong yet humble woman.  Fully aware of the task she had been called to do and fully aware of the complications the task would bring.  I do not see her as a teenager.

 

Amen.