Waking The Dead 11

I can only imagine what the experience of childbirth must be like, since, as a biological male, that is something I will never experience. Neither can I imagine what it would be like to be a girl, just perhaps puberty, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, to find herself pregnant. Not simply pregnant, but pregnant out of wedlock, without the support of the father. Nor can I imagine what it would be like for her to be engaged to a man almost old enough to be her father, who himself is not the father of the child. And then to think of the culture and era she lived in, not much different from the harsh tribal laws of many traditional Islamic communities of the Middle east. Had it been learned about her condition, she at the very best would have been thrown out of the home, exiled from the community, and perhaps have to survive as a prostitute. at worst, she would have been stoned to death. No wonder Mary would at times have felt frightened, or rather, terrified. This was also a time and culture, when not all spiritual or numinous experience was sneered at as symptoms of schizotypal or other mental health abnormalities, but it still would have strained people's sense of credulity that she had been visited by an angel or a heavenly messenger to be told that she would become pregnant, apparently by divine fiat, and would bear the Son of God who would be the saviour of the world. Likely her dad would have got together a posse, hunted down this messenger, and killed him with his bare hands. Then to imagine her fiancé's reaction, who naturally did not exactly welcome the news that someone had beat him to his girl. He was a decent chap, however, and was prepared to break off with the girl without controversy and without inflicting any punishment or shame on her. A very kind gesture, given that most men in his position would have been legally justified in having her put to death. Then comes the magic realism. an angel, likely the same messenger who spoke to Mary, speaks to him in a dream that the child is the offspring of God, and that it's all good. he accepts her as his wife, quietly marries her, and otherwise leaves her alone till after the birth. Both expectant young mother (girl, actually), and her new husband, are no doubt dumbfounded by what has occurred. Then they have to go and perform their civic duty in a small town, while she is perilously near the end of her pregnancy. They are put up in less than ideal accommodations, surrounded by livestock in a stable. Her time has come. It is not recorded whether or not there was a midwife available to help her with the birth. Joseph, a Jewish man of a certain vintage, would likely have been completely useless at assisting her in childbirth. But they were still very much alone, and what a terrifying experience this must have been. But I also imagine that they had accepted what was happening as the divine will, and that despite their fear, they were not cowed or panicked, but calm, resolute, perhaps even quietly joyful with anticipation. The risk was still quite huge. Childbirth in such unsanitary conditions. How easily she could have caught a septic infection, and died, both her and her child, not to mention the pain and risk of childbirth on a girl's body who is neither physically nor psychologically ready to have children. That's the way it was then. I hope there was an acting midwife there to help her, and to give her something for the pain. I cannot imagine the pain of childbirth. What an awful ordeal for women to have to go through just to give birth to the next generation. I imagine the whole story sounds preposterous to some, but for me, regardless of how it really happened, and what really was going on in their minds, this touches the very heart of the beauty of the Christian faith: that God has come to us in the most humble circumstances of our broken and wounded humanity, and here he dwells with us, walks with us, suffers with us, and dies with us only to raise us to life eternal with him. We have this assurance that we do not walk alone, no matter how dark the night, no matter how horrendous the sorrow and pain. There is always light concealed in the darkness and that light has a name: Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God coming to us in our humanity, and bringing us through our humanity into the beauty and joy of his presence.