Gathered
in Mark’s house, during those days prior to the feast of Pentecost,
we asked Mary, Jesus’ mother, a lot of questions. She kept on sharing
with us old memories of her youth, and of the time when God began to
fulfill His promises to Abraham…
Mary: When my mother, Anne, learned about my condition, oh,
God, she put her hands on her head, crying and shouting, telling a thousand
things to my face… Now, I can only laugh at the memory, but in those
days…!
Anne: Oh, what a shame! Mary, my child, what a humiliation!
This is a disgrace to the family! From your great, great grandparents,
I never knew there was ever such scandal!… And now you…!
Mary: But,
Mama, I already told you, this is God’s doing….
Anne: Oh, yes. First, we commit the indiscretion, then we blame
the slip on God!
Mary: For God’s sake, Mama, you’ve got to believe me…
Anne: No, no, no! Let’s not start all over again, nor should
you speak more! How could a decent and well-bred girl like you ever
have done this….
Mary: Mama, I’m fifteen years old, I’m no longer a child….
Anne: I
know, I know… You are an insolent, shameless woman!
Mary: Mama,
I… I….
Anne: All
right, don’t cry anymore, child… Oh Lord, how can we ever get out of
this mess, Holy God!… Look, Mary, whatever happens, you’ve got to leave
Nazareth. This village is too small, and the neighbors have such malicious
tongues…. You’ll stay in the house of some relatives in the south. Come
back when the child is born. We’ll tell the neighbors that you found
him in a basket, like Moses or something….
Mary: But,
Mama, I can’t leave this place… Joseph and I are getting married… I
want to be by his side…. He’s my boyfriend…
Anne: He’ll
cease to be once he finds out… He can stone you to death… and for a
reason!
Mary: Mama,
please help me….
Anne: Oh,
my child, you should’ve thought about this first. There’s nothing we
can do now. It’s no use crying over spilt milk.
Mary: But
I haven’t done anything… I… haven’t….
Anne: Listen,
Mary dear, your brother, Yayo, is taking a trip to Jerusalem next week
with one of the caravans of those selling wheat… You’ll go with him…
I’ll tell him to bring you to the house of Elizabeth and Zechariah….
Remember them? They’re our distant cousins. It’s been a long time since
they left to live in this little town they call Ain Karim, near the
capital. They’ll take good care of you there. Besides, since Elizabeth
is also expecting a baby, which will just be a matter of months, well,
you can give her a hand. This way, you won’t just be a stinking guest,
do you understand?
Mary: Yes,
Mama….
Mary: So,
the caravan carrying wheat passed and Yayo, who was the eldest of my
brothers, saddled a mule for me and we set out on the road with them,
toward the south. The truth was, I was so scared. I was wearing a green,
striped robe, the only one I had, and a new scarf that Susana had lent
me….
Yayo: Pff! How hot it is… I feel so hot and starved!… Hey,
what did you bring in your basket, Mary?
Mary: Some
doughnuts with honey that Mama prepared….
Yayo: Yeah?
Gimme one, at least, that shortens the journey, somehow….
Mary: Oh
no, they’re for Aunt Elizabeth….
Yayo: Just
gimme me a piece. That won’t make a difference…
Mary: I
know you, Yayo. You ask for one and you end up eating everything….
Yayo: Okay,
okay…. Ha! So, you’re bringing these doughnuts for Aunt Elizabeth….
Why?… Because you’re hiding something?
Mary: What
did you say…?
Yayo: Oh,
c’mon, don’t be shy…. Tell me, it was Joseph, wasn’t it?… He did it,
didn’t he?
Mary: What’re
you talking about, Yayo…?
Yayo: Don’t
deny it, my little sister… I know everything, do you hear? Everything.
But don’t you worry, when I get back from Jerusalem, that whippersnapper
will see who I am…!
Mary: But
what’re you talking about, Yayo? Are you out of your mind?
Yayo: What
I’m saying is, a swine like him cannot disgrace a sister of mine just
like that! I’ve never seen such a brazen person…!
Mary: For
God’s sake, Yayo, don’t scream, I beg of you…! Joseph is not to blame
for anything… he has not even lifted a finger on me…
Yayo: Ah,
no?… Who did it, then?… C’mon, tell me!
Mary: I
don’t know, Yayo, I really don’t know….
Yayo: You’re
not telling me it was a bee that bit you and made your belly swell…
C’mon, tell me the truth!
Mary: No…
do you still want a doughnut, Yayo? Here, take it….
Mary: We
took the route to the mountains. I had never left the house and to me,
everything was new and strange…. the trees, the towns, the people… After
three long days of journey along the road, we arrived in the barren
and sun-drenched lands of Judea…. We were very tired…. We could see
Jerusalem at a distance, but we separated from the caravan and entered
through a path leading to the small village of Ain Karim… It was called
this because of the fresh spring water in the middle of a large vineyard….
Our distant relatives lived in a small house here….
Yayo: Well, sister, I know you can take care of yourself. I
shall proceed to the capital, as it is getting late.
Mary: For God’s sake, Yayo, don’t leave me alone… I’m embarrassed
to introduce myself like this, without knowing anyone…
Yayo: You should have been embarrassed before and not now….
Goodbye, Mary, good luck!
Elizabeth: So, you’re Mary, the daughter of Joachim and Anne. I
can’t believe this! You’re so pretty, my child! And how you’ve grown!
But, what’re you doing here, who brought you here…?
Mary: I came with my brother Yayo, who was going to the capital….
Elizabeth: Oh, Mary, how happy I am to see you! And what a surprise!
I’m glad your mother has thought of this! Oh, wait, my baby is moving!…
Here, touch me, put your hand here, do you feel it? Know what, Mary
dear? I’m expecting a child!… There’s no fool like an old fool, so they
say…! Come on in, and meet your uncle… Zechariah, old man, look who’s
here to visit us! Poor man, when he learned he was going to be a father,
he got so shocked, he lost his speech….
Zechariah!… Now tell me, how’s your mother, and how’s
everyone over there?…
Mary: Aunt
Elizabeth was very affectionate with me. She treated me like her own
daughter…. She taught me many things: how to weave and to loom with
fine thread, as this was never known in Nazareth…. She also taught me
how to cook red beans… the very ones that Rebekah cooked for Isaac.
This was how the women were assured of their men…. The truth is,
I couldn’t ask for more. Aunt Elizabeth helped me a lot and gave me
self-confidence… especially that day I was washing the clothes in the
patio… and I tripped….
Elizabeth: Those
dizzy spells, today, yesterday and last Saturday... That’s too much
in a row, don’t you think so?
Mary: It’s the heat, Aunt Elizabeth…
Elizabeth: Could it be something else?… Look, my child, I’m already
old and I can distinguish a blind man sleeping and a lame man seated…
Mary: Aunt Elizabeth, I… I’ve got to tell you something…
Elizabeth: You’re pregnant, aren’t you?… Come, young woman, let’s
talk under the shade…. Unburden yourself…. Look, the soul is like an
intestine, when it becomes full, it gets indigested….
Elizabeth: So, you’re going to have a baby… Well, we’ll be on equal
footing! First, you help me with my baby, then I help you with yours.
What do you think, Mary dear?
Mary: But
Auntie, do you believe what I’ve told you…?
Elizabeth: Of
course, my dear. Why not? God is great and He makes great things. I
should know…! Look at me… I was as barren as Abraham’s wife, do you
understand? Zechariah was already old. Was there any hope left? Nothing.
Oh, my child, how many nights had I spent praying to God to take pity
on me, to give me a child! Only God knows how much I have wept during
all those years!… And Zechariah, who was always a grouchy person, was
getting worse everytime and laying the blame on me. I could only weep.
But what could I do, tell me?… Until the day of the Lord came. Yes,
my child, God has his own time and moment. That morning, Zechariah went
as usual, to the Temple with the other priests, to burn incense. He
remained a long time, praying in the Temple. In the afternoon, when
he got back, with those sad eyes, I told him: “Rejoice, old man, and
go get yourself a place in the matting for we shall have a visitor soon.”
He asked: “Who the hell is coming to the house?” Then I told him: “A
little angel, a child of yours! I’m pregnant, old man!”…. Oh Mary, after
I said that, he became dumb, because he didn’t believe it, of course.
He had already lost all hope. But look how happy he must be, now that
I’m going on seven months. He hasn’t recovered his speech yet…. This
is the work of the Lord!
Mary: What
a beautiful story, Aunt Elizabeth!
Elizabeth: Yours is even more beautiful, Mary. You’ll see.
Mary: God
was merciful with you…
Elizabeth: You bet, my child. Because if it were not for God’s hand,
with Zechariah alone, it would be futile. You know what? I like what
you said: mercy. That’s a pretty name. If this child is a boy, we shall
call him “John”, because of “mercy”….
Mary: The
time came, and Elizabeth gave birth to a big, strong, baby boy. The
whole neighborhood of Ain Karim went to greet my aunt… They brought
with them chickens, sweets and jars of honey which was abundant in the
mountains…
A
Female Neighbor: My goodness, Elizabeth, what they say is therefore true:
Better late than never! Look! What a boy! Praise God! He’s a little
darling!
Mary: On
the eighth day, as it was the custom, the rabbi was called to circumcise
the newly born child… Zechariah’s little house almost burst with people,
songs and celebration…
Female
Neighbor: Congratulations, Elizabeth, and God bless the child!
He’s so cute, my gosh, I feel like devouring him!
Elizabeth: Oh, please don’t, neighbor. He’s the only one I got,
and it took me a lot of work to make him! Well, in the end, God took
pity on me!
Female
Neighbor: Say, how will you call him?
Elizabeth: Well, he’ll be called John.
Male
Neighbor: John? But why? There’s no one by that name in your family.
Elizabeth: Neither was there anyone in the family who had difficulty
in childbirth. We shall call him John!
Female
Neighbor: Of course, you should take advantage, since old Zech
can say nothing… Here he comes…. Hey, Zechariah, come over here… What
do you think? What name will you give your son?
Zechariah: Humumumu….
Female Neighbor: Wait a minute, not even wise Solomon could understand
you…
Zechariah: Humumumu….
Elizabeth: Bring him a board. He says to bring him a board.
Female Neighbor: How come you understand this jargon of his, Elizabeth?
Elizabeth: Oh, my child, thirty-five years of staying together,
isn’t that enough…!
Mary: They
brought him a board and a writing tool. Uncle Zechariah scribbled the
letters of the name that my aunt and he wanted for their son…
Female Neighbor: What did you write there, old Zech? Lemme see…?
Male
Neighbor: John? Oh no, not John! No way!
Zechariah: Humumu…. John, yes! John is his name, blazes!!!
Female Neighbor: Did you hear him, Elizabeth? Your husband can speak!
Mary: Uncle
Zechariah’s face brightened up and his eyes were filled with tears,
those eyes which had gone weary for having waited so long. But now there
was radiance in them, for the joy of being a father, for the happiness
of having brought a child into this world….
Zechariah: Praise God!!
Elizabeth: So, you can speak, old man?
Zechariah: Blessed be God who is merciful, for He has made you fertile,
woman! Blessed be our country! Her liberation is coming! The Lord gave
that promise to our father, Abraham. He announced it through the lips
of our prophets, and He will fulfill that promise soon, very soon, so
that we can serve Him without fear, in our free country! God bless you
my son, my son of mercy! You will go ahead, making way for the Lord,
preparing for Him a new people who are willing, until the Light of the
Almighty shines in the midst of darkness, so that we may tread every
path of peace.
Female
Neighbor: Good,
Zechariah, very good, it has even made a poet out of you, imagine!
Mary: I’ll
never ever forget that party. The neighbors of Ain Karim gave a toast
to John, the little son of Elizabeth and Zechariah. They regaled him
with some poems of good luck and danced in the patio until dawn….
Elizabeth: So, you see, Mary?… See how well God makes things happen?
Don’t be afraid, young woman…
If God has chosen you, and blessed the fruit in your womb, then He will
take care of everything for you… Then the day will come when they will
compliment you, the way they have com-plimented me now… and there will
be many such days, Mary…
Mary: Yes, God was good with Aunt Elizabeth, and so was He
with me. The truth is, He has been very good to me, and I’ll never stop
thanking Him. You’ve seen whom He has chosen…. This is the way of the
Lord…. He brings down the powerful from their throne, while He lifts
the humble from their misery… The rich, He renders empty. And He feeds
the hungry… He gave a child to the sterile Elizabeth. And with me, He
made the greatest miracle, because He made me see with my own eyes my
own son, Jesus, raised from the dead…. Sometimes I think that everything
that has happened is what God had promised to Abraham and to our fathers,
what we have been waiting for, for generations.