Mary,

Mother of Jesus, Mensch

By Jane Gilgun

Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord was within you nine months pregnant, riding on the donkey to give birth on a bed of straw in a cow barn. The magi said a hard time we had of it, just the worst time of year. Did the magi understand labor, the effort it takes to give birth, the gush, the push, the groans, the pain, the blood, the rush, the joy, the love? No midwife, no doctor, just you, Joseph, and the ass. Did you have water to bathe your baby? Where did you get the swaddling clothes? Were you exhausted? Relieved he had fingers and toes? Did you hurt? Did you sit in a warm bath? Were Joseph, the infant, and the presence of God enough? How about the journey home, the long way you and your family had to travel, you sitting on that donkey once again. Did it hurt? Did you ever ask God, Why me? Why arent there gospels of Mary and Joseph

telling of the raising of the prodigy they named Jesus? How on earth did you and Joseph raise that child? What genes did you pass on to him? Joseph is of the house of David but Jesus did not carry Josephs genes, did he? Were you really pregnant and shamed and Joseph had nothing to do with it? How about your house? What prophets are you descended from? Did anyone keep track of womens lines? You are of the House of David. Now thats a well-kept secret. Jesus got his brains and his spirit from you and his father. You and Joseph and your community of laborers raised this child for whom you fetched water, went to market, grew food, cooked, cleaned, made clothes, washed them, washed him, set bedtimes, meal times, the rules, clear in your expectations, abundant in your love. Did you teach him to read? Could you read? How spiritual were you? How good? How about Joseph? Did you and Joseph teach him scripture? He had great teachers and sought them out, staying with the rabbis when you were on your way home. You labored to bring your son to manhood and worried about his safety and his genius. Jesus is of you, You are like my mother, all mothers, co-creators. You co-created Jesus. Mary, I never thought much of you, forced on me as you were when I was a girl. Be like Mary, the Blessed Virgin. Who wants to be like her? Her long-suffering face raised to heaven, a vessel whom God acted upon, passive as a lily pad. The child Jesus rose out of nowhere but God You had nothing to do with it. All you did was accept and weep. I never wanted to be like that. God did all the work.

You sort of said yes. Now I want to be like you full of grace and the love of God in the hope of co-creating like you or at least encouraging the spirit of justice and care that is already present in so many. Selfishness and destructiveness cloaked in virtue and self-satisfaction are rampant in this world. You were too busy to write a gospel You did not tell your story your way Somehow, I must have loosened the shackles that the magi and others co-created when they constructed history, God, me, other women, you, Jesus, and Joseph. I bow to you in love, respect, and gratitude. You labored long and did magnificently. Now, finally, I want to be like you, not for your passivity, but for your accomplishments You are a mensch. You are a mitzvah, too, The gifts you gave you gave without others knowing what you had done. Jane Gilgun 5.8.11 Mothers Day