Mary, was it one of Herod's soldiers?

It really doesn't matter what your position is on the ancient Christmas story, ok? Over the years, I've learned the importance of this historical account isn't about me.  On the contrary, whatever your mental process is on this "story" be it skeptic, rationalist, agnostic or atheist, this account exists and stands firmly in the conviction of many people. I would venture to say the vast majority of anyone subscribing to a "religion" have a position on what happened 2000 years ago. Their perspectives may surprise you. Islam and Christianity are actually unified on the account, that this young girl, Mary, was a virgin. There is nothing else shared between Islam and Christianity, but I have a deep respect for the beliefs of my Muslim friends. The other major religion, Judaism, is of the opinion that the key character in our story was a Semite and somewhat of a deluded victim of extreme poverty. To many Jews, Mary was the mother of a misguided rabbi. Nevertheless, this "ancient superstition" stands.

We all know the story, most likely because we are influenced by it in some way. We may not admit it, but we are influenced by it. In fact,

Some time ago, I wrote a similar perspective on this topic entitled  "Was that Jewish Peasant Girl Lying? " and I wonder if you would be a patient reader and allow me to propose some other perspectives on my first narrative?

First of all, these traditions about the first Christmas could be entirely false or this could be a infallible account of actual events. Also, it could be an embellishment of a story. It doesn't matter that a prophet, hundreds of years earlier,  talked about a virgin birth of the Messiah (see Isaiah 7:14). Maybe Isaiah was mistaken though, probably that old text could be translated "young girl" and not a virgin. Or maybe it was translated and copied wrong, written after the account of these things (we should mention here the Isaiah papyrus known as the Dead Sea Scrolls).

Who was this teenage girl, Mary? Did she even exist?  Where did this story come up about being a virgin?

 

At the outset, as you come to this story there are angels. In our minds, there may or may not have been angelic visitations - most of us fall into one of those two camps. In our current culture we may dismiss these heavenly visitors, but in the text there were two such visitations. One to the father of the man who would later become "John The Baptist" (a rather extreme fundamentalist in the Baptist-sense) and this young teen girl.

On Zechariah, he was a Hebrew disbeliever. Now, if you are a disbeliever in Mary's account, please ponder Zechariah skepticism for a moment. It doesn't matter what the angel says to him, he doesn't believe it. A  very religious man and a priest going about this act of religiosity, he was interrupted in one of the most important duties assigned to ancient priests of his day - the annual rite of offering a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the people.  The angel is saying his "older wife - Elizabeth" will have a son.

For the record, the Qur'an references and Elizabeth, Zachariah and John the Baptist as exalted doers of good. In essence, Islam recognizes the angelic visitation to Zachariah.

Anyway, Zechariah chokes. He's never heard a voice in the sanctuary before. He is scared and maybe not thinking correctly. It is usually quiet in here, this is a sacred place.  All he says is, "how can this be?" Folks, my wife and I are similar in age, both in our mid-50s. We have been married 34 years, raised 3 daughters and now have 6 grandchildren. I could easily cut this guy a break, most likely I would have the same response. However, the angel rebuffs him. Zechariah is not to speak until the baby is born.

Now we have Mary. Same angel, but a more preposterous claim. I'd  be the first person to dismiss the possibility of a virgin birth. After all, how can a woman become pregnant when she has never had sexual intercourse? She plainly asks the angel this very question. An explanation is given.

At this point, the jury is out. What will Mary say to this angel?

I've wondered through the years, what ran threw her head at that precise moment in time.

She can hear her father going ballistic when she presents the urine strip test results to her family.

"Mary, was it one of Herod's soldiers?"

Or, he might be thinking "that Joseph.. he has ruined the reputation of our family."

 
She is a scared young girl, but replies to the angel "let it be done according to your word."

Let's be clear here, ok? Mary was not raped by a man or by a spiritual  being or a "Holy Spirit" or whatever else we can conjure up. What happened to her was by her consent.

Did she immediately tell her family or Joseph about this visitation? I don't know. It isn't clear. They did find out though, either by her explanation or by the obvious shape of her physical appearance. The bible text does say that she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth's house. This visit was purposeful. Elizabeth is obviously pregnant by this time. This woman also validates any doubts Mary would have about her own spiritual journey in this matter.

Now, for the record, I don't deify Mary. She was a person just like you and I. She is an example of faith in a faithless age, both then and now.

If you are interested in what I am writing about here, can I encourage you to read the original text account of these things?  Read Luke 1:1-45.

Virtual Reality

There are lots of a tech talk these days of a 3D virtual world where people occupy avatars and inhabit electronic environments via digital cameras and other technical interfaces. Players put on special gloves that allow them to feel and touch their virtual environment, one turns their head and it is like looking around inside the virtual world while sitting on the sofa.

Personally, I am a fan of some of these developments. From a therapeutic perspective, speaking as a clinician who has absolutely no competence in the area of psychiatry - so please excuse any claim of knowing what I am talking about - virtual reality has proven effective in treating some people with post-traumatic disorders. Combat veterans, for example, return to the battlefield and immerse themselves in war games that allow them to bridge reality with their emotional pain of a experience from the past.

Virtual reality also has a social significance. It allows people to be someone they are not. For example, there are 3D worlds where people can put on bodies and faces that in no way represent their true identity. They can meet people and appear to have a beauty about them when, in reality, they are a little overweight or have a mole on their chin.

I wonder sometimes if in the matter of spiritual things we also experience a type of virtual reality. We are shielded sometimes from knowing who we really are, our moral identity is inflated by attitudes of self-righteous behavior. Our actions and words shield us from the real world of pain, suffering, or just how depraved we really are. For example, we might not think anything is wrong by viewing pornography or meeting a sexual partner for our fantasy world.

Indeed, the picture of he sultry woman on the web page may not be all you think she is. Could she be a victim of child molestation? Was she forced into the world of prostitution to escape an abusive father? Is this the victim of drugs, the pornography being the only way to cope with the cost? Could she have been taken off the streets as a runaway and litterally have no place else to go but in front of a camera?


Is our viewing these pictures a type of "virtual reality" ?

I sometimes wonder, especially as we celebrate Christmas , if we think the whole "CHRISTMAS THING" is a virtual reality.

After all, this is really God we are talking about. Certainly God's own Son didn't leave paradise and enter the world born into a poor carpenter's family. Maybe electronically he "beamed" himself down under that north star, right?

So, was this "God" protected from the real-world experience?

While wealthy women today give birth in expensive hospitals with epidural anesthesia, 2000 years ago a Hebrew woman cries out in pain. This town of Bethlehem, foretold more than 500 years  before the selected date by the prophet Isaiah, could it be real? Is this really happening? Is God visiting man and his world?

Let's contine to ask the hard questions.

Why would God occupy the body of a frail Jewish infant and fall asleep in a cattle trough? Surely this child is insignificant, after all Herod would not send soldiers a few days later to slaughter hundreds of babies just to kill this one?

Jesus' appearance must be a myth or maybe the story is inflated a bit! Perhaps over the years many would embellish the story of this Christ child.

God really doesn't want to visit us, does he? Isn't God removed from the affairs of men? Why would we come into the world we inhabit?

Surely if God did come, he was shielded from the true experience of being human. Perhaps God put on some of the virtual electronic glove when he reached up and touched the hand of Mary!

In John 1, there's a different account from the virtual reality one.

Incarnate literally means embodied in flesh or taking on flesh. God took us "on," he wanted to know what it was like to experience lust, hunger, pain and suffering.

From the beginning he knew the ancient Hebrew law - not to commit adultery, not to steal, and not to even covet  - could not be fulfilled on our own. He also knew that there was a consequence for disobeying the law, a penalty to be paid. So why not just look the other way? Let man live his or her sinful life and just excuse it?

If you been wondering this year what sets Christianity apart from other religions or philosophical belief systems, consider this moment in Bethlehem  as the starting point in your inquiry.

OTHER VIEWPOINTS

Many of the world's religions respect this Jesus as a great teacher or a prophet, but not as equal to God. According to Islam, Jesus was born to a virgin. In fact, many Muslims count themselves more faithful to the teachings of Jesus than Christians! Indeed, I've met Muslim people more moral than I am! Indeed, if we are to be  saved by our religiosity than there would be many more Islamic friends that would enter paradise rather than me. I openly admit it, I have no power to save myself no matter how good I want to be.

So who is Jesus under Islamic teaching?

He is not God. God sent Jesus as a prophet maybe, but the great prophet would not accept this Jesus as God's son.  In Islam, it is possible that God allowed the prophet Jesus to go through a trial under Pilate. But, God would not allow people to spit on him or call him names. Many of my Muslim friends believe that God spared Jesus the prophet from death on a cross. He left his body, only a spiritless Jesus died on the cross.

Maybe you are of the Eastern religious viewpoint, to you Jesus is a great moral teacher. By his example we learn to love others and to love God. We may perceive him to have a more powerful "chakra" than other people. Indeed, there are six chakras and many believe this is the spiritual energy or the spiritual "portals" of a person. I do not say this in a mocking way, don't interpret what I am writing as silly. However, Jesus is not just had more energy than anyone else. This is not why he healed people. In any case, the chakra exists in Hindu and other Westernized forms and, for some, fits the modern definition of health science as we seek to manipulate energy fields through therapeutic touch to bring about healing.

VIRTUAL - NOT

This child , who was he? Chakra personified by healing or prophet defeated by crucifixion?

The bible says that Jesus represents all we need to know about God. Through Jesus, he knows all about our world.  Not a virtual reality world, but the real world. Read Luke 2:1-7 and discover for yourself the identity of Jesus. Ask the hard questions, did this really happen? Would a census have been taken? What is the historical context for his birth? Is the birth of Jesus a myth? Is it all imaginary, inflated by years of copying ancient text filled with errors? Are the main characters also imaginary - Caesar Augustus? Wise men? Why was it unorthodox for a Jewish man (Joseph) to attend a woman in labor? Why was there no room in the "hotels" of the day? What significance do these things have in understanding the identity of Jesus of Nazareth? Tell me what you think!