Story of Mary of Nazareth

THE STORY OF MARY OF NAZARETH

Mary means ‘wise woman’ or ‘lady’. It is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Miriam or Mariam. Since Mariamme had been the beautiful, tragic but much admired queen of Herod the Great, Mariamme or Mary was a very common woman's name at the time.
Jesus means ‘God saves’ or ‘God is generous’.
Joseph means ‘May God add….’ (other children to the one just born).
Elizabeth means ‘My God is generous’.
Anna means ‘favour’.
Simeon means ‘God has heard’.
John means ‘God has shown favour’.

What the story is about:
Mary of Nazareth was the mother of Jesus Christ. She is one of the few women in the ancient world whose life story has been told. We have stories of her as a young girl, a mother, and a mature woman. It is important to realize that we carry different images of Mary in our minds - such as

*   the woman Mary, a historical figure who lived in first-century Galilee
*   Mary the mother of Jesus in the stories of the New Testament
*   Mary who has been venerated throughout the history of the Christian Church as the Mother of God.

This text deals only with the first two images of Mary, the Mary of history and the Mary of the gospels. It does not examine the image of Mary that developed throughout the centuries of Christian tradition.

MARY’S WORLD

Mary of Nazareth was a Jewish peasant girl. She lived in a world in which about 70% of people were peasant farmers. She worked hard at a range of tasks, and she loved and looked after her family.
The small, conservative town of Nazareth had a population of no more than 400. Mary probably knew everyone in the town, especially the women with whom she worked and lived. Women have been involved in agriculture and food production since prehistoric times, and she and other women in her family group had the responsibility of farming any land that the family owned, whether it was fields, orchards or vineyards (olives were the largest crop produced in Galilee at this time).
The historical Mary was probably physically robust, strong-minded, practical, respectful of tradition and loyal to her family – all characteristics of scriptural women in general.

Mary would have spoken Aramaic, a language with a strong poetic tradition. Her society valued the oral transmission of tradition, ideas, stories and news. Being able to talk well was a valued skill in the ancient world.

She would have known the Jewish Scriptures, especially the stories and prayers in them, and been aware of the women in these stories, many of them favourite role models.
Mary probably knew the stories and prayers by heart, rather than by reading them. Reading was a specialized skill, necessary for men so that they could read the Torah, but not necessary for women, who were concerned with developing more practical skills.
Scriptural stories were not just ‘religious’ to Mary. They were entertainment as well. People told the stories and acted them out for pure enjoyment.

There were three main social levels in Mary’s world: the rich, who were usually landowners and/or entrepreneurs; the poor, who worked on the land or at a variety of trades; and the destitute, who had neither land nor job, and who survived by begging. Mary and her family belonged to the middle group.

MARY OF THE SCRIPTURES

At this stage we turn to the image of Mary as she is presented in the early Christian Scriptures.
Writers of the New Testament saw Mary as relatively unimportant. For them, Jesus was the central figure. He was the focus of all their attention and hopes. Mary is included only when something she does throws light on the person of Jesus.
The four evangelists show Mary in four different ways. Like modern authors, they do this because

Mark places Mary firmly at the centre of her family. One of his stories tell of a visit she and her family made to Jesus when he was preaching.
‘A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you”.’
(Read Mark 3:31-35)

Mary is shown as the leader of the family of Jesus, confident and loving. The members of his family did not understand Jesus’ purpose, but were concerned about his welfare.

Mark showed that Jesus reset the boundaries of family life. Firstly, he was obviously trying to break away from his roots and take his message to a larger audience.

He had also widened the family circle so that the kinship group was extended to a community of people who believed in him. Mark was implying that the community of believers should function like a close-knit family.
Women were clearly a part of the new type of family that Jesus proposed.

In another story, Jesus returned to his home town, Nazareth. He had been living the life of an itinerant preacher. When he returned, he is at first greeted warmly, but then rejected and violently expelled from his own town.

Mark’s image of Mary may be the closest to the historical Mary of Nazareth.
(Read Mark 6:1-6)

MARY IN LUKE’S GOSPEL

Luke’s gospel contains stories not found in the other gospels. In Luke’s gospel, the references to Mary are:

In the gospel written by Luke, Mary was a model of what a follower of Jesus ought to be: she had faith in God, she thought deeply about what was happening to her, and she co-operated with God, holding nothing back. She was also a very human figure, experiencing distress and joy as she watched over her child.

Mary promised herself in marriage to a young man called Joseph. He was a ‘worker’ in wood, metal or stone, producing practical objects for agricultural or domestic use. But Mary’s life was not to be the normal one a young Galilean woman might expect.

The gospels say that an ‘angel’ came to her, telling her that she was to be the mother of an extraordinary man, one who would be called the Son of God. This event was called the Annunciation.

'The angel said to her “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus”.’
(Read Luke 1:26-38)

Mary became pregnant, even though she and Joseph had not had sexual intercourse.
Being an unmarried mother in that culture was very difficult, much more so than in today’s society. People were not seen as individuals as they are now, but members of their group/clan, and any action of an individual reflected on the whole group. Mary’s family would have found it very hard to believe that there was no human father; her pregnancy would bring dishonor to all of them.
Soon after this, Mary went to visit an older cousin of hers, Elizabeth.
(Read Luke 1:39-56)

When Mary and Elizabeth met, there was a moment of mutual recognition, where each woman realized that the child of the other would be a person of great importance. Mary spoke the words of a beautiful prayer, expressing her wonder at what had happened. The prayer is called the ‘Magnificat’.

Mary and Joseph had to attend a census-taking in Joseph’s ancestral town, Bethlehem, and Mary gave birth to her son there. This census may or may not be an historical fact: possibly it was a device to situate them in Bethlehem, from which the Messiah would spring, for the birth of Jesus.
(Read Luke 2:1-7)

In traditional portrayals of the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph were the only family members present. In fact, Mary would have been helped during the birth by a group of her female relatives.

All the stories about Jesus’ early life convey the idea that he was extraordinary. Their message is that Jesus was more than an inspired teacher and thinker. While he was fully human, he also came directly from God, and represented God in a unique way. By saying that Jesus’ birth was miraculous, Luke presented Jesus as divine.

After the birth of Mary’s son, he was taken to the Temple in Jerusalem.
(Read Luke 2:21-38)
A religious ceremony for the women followed the birth of a Jewish child. This marked the end of the post-partum period, and the resumption of sexual relations between wife and husband.
As a devout Jewess, Mary observed the rituals surrounding the birth of a child (Leviticus 12).
During the ceremony in the Temple two people, Anna and Simeon, foretold an extraordinary future for Mary’s son.

After this, Mary and Joseph returned to Nazareth, where they lived with their family. During these years, Mary lived the normal life of a Galilean peasant woman.

A Jewish woman had the responsibility of giving her children their basic education. Jesus’ introduction to the richness of Jewish religious ideas came initially from his mother, with male teachers later educating him in Torah.
Mary and her family seem to have been conservative Jews who took their religious duties seriously. Jesus was about twelve when they made the journey to Jerusalem. They travelled with a group of pilgrims to visit the great Temple and make sacrifices there.
(Read Luke 2:41-52)

For a woman from a small town in far-off Galilee, Jerusalem would be confusing, noisy, full of strangers, but also exciting, with strange sights and new experiences.
On one of their visits to Jerusalem, Mary’s son Jesus stayed behind when the other members of his family set out for home. His absence was not noticed for some time.
Men and women spent the major part of their lives in groups of their own sex. Jesus could have been with either group. As a child, he spent most of his life with the women’s group, but as a boy near adulthood, he could have been with the men’s group.

Mary and her family looked for Jesus, and when they found him they all returned to Galilee. Mary continued her life as a normal Jewish/Galilean woman.
Now read Luke 4:16-30, where Jesus was rejected at Nazareth, and Luke 8:19-21, where the family of Jesus visited him during his ministry.

  MARY IN MATTHEW’S GOSPEL

Matthew’s gospel contains several stories not found in the other gospels. In Matthew’s gospel, the references to Mary are:

    1:18-25, the birth of Mary’s son Jesus
    2:13-21, Mary, Joseph and Jesus flee to Egypt
    12:46-50, the family of Jesus visit him during his ministry
    13:53-58, Jesus is rejected at Nazareth

In the gospel written by Matthew, the story of Jesus’ birth is told from Joseph’s point of view, not Mary’s. The story is preceded by a genealogy, in which Joseph is named as the legal father of Jesus.
In the Jewish world, a genealogy established social position and religious identity. It shows a difference in approach between Luke’s and Matthew’s accounts.
In Matthew’s gospel, Mary was in a vulnerable position because her culture emphasized family honor. Her pregnancy could bring dishonor to her whole family.
At first, Joseph was reluctant to marry, knowing that he was not the father of her child. But in a dream he realized that what was happening is remarkable and amazing, and cannot be treated in an ordinary way. So Mary and Joseph were married.
‘When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son.’
(Read Matthew 1:18-25)

In Matthew 2:13-21, Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled to Egypt. The story about Jesus' escape to Egypt paralleled another escape stories in the Hebrew Scripture: Joseph in the book of Genesis, and Moses’ escape from the Pharaoh.

Read Matthew 12:46-50, the family of Jesus visit him during his ministry.
Read Matthew 13:53-58, Jesus is rejected at Nazareth.
There is no mention of Joseph in the later stories. In her maturity, May may have been widowed, or Joseph may have traveled to surrounding villages and towns to look for work. Builders, stonemasons and carpenters from Nazareth would have been hard-pressed to support themselves if they worked only in their own village. There was work at Sepphoris, four miles north of Nazareth. The Romans rebuilt this town with a Greek-style theatre and temples during Jesus’ boyhood, so there would have been plenty of work their for building tradesmen.

MARY IN JOHN’S GOSPEL

John’s gospel contains stories not found in the other gospels. The references to Mary in John’s gospel are:

The gospel of John developed complex ideas about Jesus: who he was, and how this was evident in his life. The emphasis was on the divinity of Jesus, with not many stories about Mary. But the stories we have show a woman who was sure of herself, and confident about her place in the community.

One story tells about a wedding that she and Jesus attended in a town in central Galilee, called Cana.
‘When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him “They have no wine.” And Jesus said to her “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants “Do whatever he tells you.” Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to the “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.’
(Read John 2:1-11)

The story of the wedding at Cana gives us an example of Mary’s assertiveness as she insists that Jesus help in a difficult situation. Mary has often been represented as quiet and submissive in iconography and tradition. As a Jewish peasant woman, it is unlikely that she was either of these things.

Mary watched her son during the three years he spent teaching and traveling around the country. She saw that the authorities view edhis actions and words with mounting apprehension.

The Jewish authorities were in a difficult situation. They were trying to maintain a delicate balance of political stability between the Romans and the Jewish population. They saw Jesus as a threat to this stability.
The situation became progressively worse. Mary saw the danger coming, but was unable to protect her son. Eventually, during an incident in the crowded city of Jerusalem, Jesus was arrested, given a swift trial, and executed in the hideous manner reserved for criminals.

‘Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother “Woman, here is your son.” The he said to the disciple “Here is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.’
(Read John 19:25-27)

Mary saw her son tortured and killed. Jesus had been her baby, the boy she educated, the young man she was so proud of. She now saw him tormented and executed by brutal soldiers. It is impossible to imagine how she felt as she watched the full horror of the crucifixion. After the death of her son, Mary lived in the home of one of his friends.

MARY IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

Read Acts 1:13-14, Mary’s role in the early Christian communities
Keep in mind as your read this passage from Acts that it was written before the gospels were written. Mary is shown as a mature woman who devoted herself to prayer within the early Christian community. She thus lived out the Jewish ideal of holiness. Jews believe that holiness is found in active participation in the life of the community. Holy people do not avoid the company of others. They share the happiness and sadness of the people around them, because they believe that God is found in humanity, not in isolation.
Mary is shown within a community, focused on God.

Compare the following paintings of the event called the Annunciation, when the Angel asked Mary to be the mother of Jesus. What are the various images of Mary that the artist has projected? Of the angel? Can you deduce anything about the religious ideas of the artist?

Paintings of the Annunciation: Ustyug, Novgorod school, 12th century; Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones; Dante Gabriel Rossetti; Jan van Eyck; Fra Angelico; William Waterhouse; Rupert Bunny; Henry Tanner; The Angel at Dresden; John Collier; artist unknown

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE STORY

Though he lived centuries before Christ, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) influenced the Jewish world in which Mary of Nazareth lived. Alexander was not merely a military conqueror, but a visionary with an ambition to spread Greek culture throughout the world.
There was much that was refined and intelligent in Hellenistic (that is, Greek) culture, and many Jews were tempted to adopt it. But as they did, they found that their own culture and identity were threatened. For this reason, Greek culture was resisted by many Jews and its influence was uneven.

For example, Nazareth where Jesus grew up was a conservative town that clung to traditional Jewish culture. But only a few miles away the town of Sepphoris showed strong Greek influence, with a Graeco-Roman theatre capable of seating 5000 people. So it is difficult to generalize about the impact of Greek culture. Nevertheless, its influence was pervasive, and eventually altered European thought and culture.

An aerial view of the ruins of Sepphoris, and a colonnaded street there that Jesus and Joseph may have helped to build

In 63BC the Roman general Pompey occupied Jerusalem. From that time until after the time of Jesus, Palestine was governed as a vassal state by the Romans. The ruler of Palestine from 37-4BC was Herod the Great, who was a great builder, founding among other things the seaport of Caesarea and the fortress of Masada. He rebuilt the Temple (the present-day Wailing Wall in Jerusalem dates from this time). He also helped to finance the Olympic games in Greece!
In 4BC Herod was succeeded in Judea by his son Archeleus, who mismanaged state affairs so badly that he was removed from office by the Romans, and replaced by an official called a procurator, who supervised the troops, gathered taxes, and administered criminal justice.

During these later years, most of Palestine was undergoing a serious economic recession. Despite the fertility of the land, there was unemployment and poverty throughout the country. The great building programs of Herod the Great had come to an end, throwing thousands of tradesmen out of work. Without a modern social security system to fall back on, the families of these unemployed men were in a serious situation.
The gospels show evidence of social dislocation and political unrest. Jesus’ arrest, trial and execution took place in a climate of political instability and economic uncertainty.

ATTITUDES TO WOMEN AT THAT TIME

Gospel stories are often discussed as if they happened in isolation, outside the real world. But in fact they occurred within a historical context, against a cultural background quite different to our own. Knowing about the world of the gospel gives the reader a better understanding of the stories.

Greek philosophy was greatly admired at the time of Jesus, and it had a profound impact on the way that people saw their world. One of the greatest philosophers, Plato, proposed the theory of dualism, suggesting that everything in the cosmos had an equal and opposite other. This theory had a profound impact on the way that women were viewed, and it was not to women's advantage. 'Woman' was placed in a category containing elements that were viewed as negative:

   Man   -                 Woman
   Civilization   -      Nature
   Reason/logic   - Emotion
   Good   -               Evil
   Light   -                Darkness

Keep in mind that
    Civilization was the ideal; Nature was mistrusted and potentially dangerous
    Logic and reason were admired, and emotion was to be subordinated.
    Goodness was always preferable to evil.
    Light, especially in the pre-industrial world, was preferred to darkness.

These are examples only, but they show that Platonic dualism placed women in a negative category. They were seen as closer to the natural/animal world than men. By nature they were irrational and untrustworthy, and therefore unfit to make their own decisions and govern their own lives. They had to be looked after and controlled, never treated as equals.

This differed from the traditional Jewish way of looking at the world, which saw all things in creation as integrated and complementary, rather than as opposites of each other. An example of this is the creation story of Eve, which relates that the first woman was created from a rib taken by God from Adam's side, thereby suggesting that a man could never be fully complete unless he was in partnership with a woman.

Jewish and Jewish/Christian women resisted the ideas of Platonic dualism, which patronized them and diminished their status. While Christianity remained a Jewish sect, the status of women within the Christian communities was high.

But as the ideas of Christianity moved out into the Gentile, Hellenised world, the first Christians found they had to use the Greek philosophical framework to explain their beliefs and be accepted. So Jesus' original ideal of mutual respect between the sexes was watered down and changed. Women found they were given roles that were acceptable in the outside, Hellenistic culture. In doing so, the Christian church stepped back from the radical ideals of the first Jewish/Christians.

Women were still powerful in the private sphere, but were shunted to the side in the public arena. This shows up, for example, in 1st and 2nd century re-tellings of the biblical stories. Where these stories had often had women as central characters, they now focused on men and male activities.

An example of this is the story of Moses’ birth in Josephus’ Antiquities (Josephus was a Jewish writer and historian of the 1st century BC).
In the original biblical telling of the story (in Exodus 1 and 2) the baby Moses is saved by the two midwives, by his mother, by his sister, and by Pharaoh’s daughter – all, obviously, women.

In Josephus’ retelling of the story written in about 94AD, the focus is largely on Moses’ father Amram. He performs many of the actions previously attributed to the women. Female characters in the story are changed. The mid-wives in Josephus’ retelling
    are Egyptian, not Hebrew
    are unnamed
    are not present at Moses' birth
    kill Hebrew babies, not save them.
The basic story of Moses’ birth remains the same, but the female dimension has been lost.

There were reasons for the changes Josephus made to the story. He was trying to counter the anti-Semitism that existed in Rome at the time, so he wrote about Jewish women who behaved like decent Roman matrons! This ideal of Roman womanhood had been vigorously promoted in a ‘back to basics’ program by the emperor Augustus and the Roman authorities.

The ideal Roman woman, they said, was a mother of many children, content with her household duties. She kept to her traditional role, in the home, and did not speak assertively to the men in her family. She did not enter the public world.