THE BIBLE: Mary, Could You Ever REALLY Know?

    
     For days I have wanted to blog about REAL Mary. Her call was to birth, cradle, kiss, and raise... the precious Son of God and Savior of the world! How could Mary's young teen mind ever really have known the full impact of her willing response to the Angel Gabriel: "I am the Lord's servant... may it be to me as you have said"?

     THE BIBLE's Mary portrayal meticulously melds, blends, and overlaps New Testament accounts written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and is basically accurate. 

     Fully pregnant Mary's 100-mile donkey ride, stable laboring, and star-compelled visitors (the Wise Men may have actually visited later, but that is irrelevant) stirred me. God's warning in a dream to husband Joseph, to quickly flee to Egypt, showed his wise obedience to God; otherwise, paranoid King Herod's edict would have been completely fulfilled. Miraculously, one precious little bundle survived.

     Accounts omitted include older-relative Elizabeth's parallel miracle pregnancy with Mary. Elizabeth (pregnant with John the Baptist) gave Mary important, early-pregnancy refuge, that encouraged both Elizabeth and Mary. 

     Eight-day old Jesus' presentation in the temple was also omitted. Devout Simeon's Spirit-led blessing and Prophetess Anna's random announcement to people in the temple gave Mary and Joseph additional and needed assurance that their child was truly Special. Mary regularly needed to ponder every supernatural incident; to obediently put one foot in front of the other; to squelch uncertainty; to increase her faith.

     I fell in love with protective, wise, spirit-led husband Joseph, and later I applauded the mid-life, managed attention the movie directed to Mary.

     The conclusion of THE BIBLE airs Easter Sunday, at 7:00 p.m. Beginning at 11:00 a.m. that day, they will re-air Parts 1-4.