I am not sure if it is the Catholic in me, or the United Methodist in me, or the Mom in me, or the woman in me, but one person I feel does not receive the recognition she deserves at Christmas is, of course, Mary. Also, another aspect of this story that I am fascinated with is the Christian-Muslim understanding of not only the birth of Jesus, but of his early years.

Mary was in her teenage to young adult years when the angel, Gabriel, appeared to her and told her that God would bless her with a child. In a time when a woman was stoned to death for what would be viewed as “adultery,” Mary faced a fearful fate. We read in Matthew 1:18-25 where her betrothed, Joseph, thought he may have to leave her when she told him, but then, once again, Gabriel came to the rescue in Joseph’s dream and verified, yes, indeed, Mary is with child and it was God’s doing. (Note: New Revised Standard Version.)

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

In the Qur’an, there is no mention of Joseph in this tale, but the angel, Jibral, pays a visit to Mary and gives Mary the news. In Maryam, Surah 19:16-26, we read this famous birth narrative from a different perspective. (Note: An Interpretation of the Qur’an, translated by Majid Fahkry.)

And remember [the account] of Mary in the Book when she withdrew from her people to an eastern place.

She screened herself away from them, and We sent her to Our Spirit and it appeared to her in the form of a well-shaped human being.

She said: “I seek refuge with Allah from you, if you do fear Allah.”

He said: “I am only the messenger of your Lord to grant you a boy most pure.”

She said: “Shall I have a boy, when no man has touched me and I have not been an unchaste woman?”

He said: “Thus [it will be], your Lord has said: ‘This is an easy matter for Me; that We may make him a sign unto mankind and a Mercy from us.’” And this it was decreed.

So, she conceived him and withdrew with him to a distant place.

The labour pains drove her to the trunk of a palm tree.  She said: “I wish I had died before this and had become completely forgotten.”

Whereupon [the babe (Jesus) or (Gabriel)] called her from beneath her: “Do not grieve.  Your Lord has created below you a stream.

“Shake the trunk of the palm tree towards you and it will drop upon you fresh ripe dates.”

“Eat, drink and rejoice. Then if you see any human say: ‘I have vowed to the Compassionate to fast, and so I shall not talk today to any human being.’”

In this comparative work that mostly focuses on the importance of Mary, it is important to mention that Muslims do consider Mary to have been a virgin, making Jesus’ birth no less a miracle than Christians realize it to be. Muslims believe that Jesus’ birth from the Virgin Mary leaves a, “Deep veneration, then, of both simple devotional character and subtle philosophical theory, cherishes the person of Jesus among Muslims, because of the quality of his birth” (Jesus and The Muslim, An Exploration, Cragg 1985, 67).

These two accounts are incredibly interesting, and different, and illustrate one of the greatest stories ever told. For Mary, however, how confusing, and more, how controversial for her to live as an unwed, young, pregnant woman, and did she tell people that her child was from God? In reality, I doubt she shared that tidbit of information with many—for fear of not only being accused of adultery, but insanity as well. Yet, she persevered, even though she was most likely confused, scared, and bewildered.

Today, I believe Mary is not only an incredible role model for the faithful, but for all mothers. We really have no detailed accounts of Jesus’ first thirty years, so we can assume that he was learning that whole time—learning who he was, what he was to do, theorizing his philosophies and theology, etc. I often wonder if Jesus was a rebellious teen—did he tell both of his parents off? Did he stay out late at night? Did he refuse to do his chores? Was he moody? Did he have a girlfriend? He was human, after all.

What I think a lot of people miss is that Mary must have been there with Jesus through much of that. She must have simply been a good mom. As a mom myself, I believe she guided Jesus, scolded him, taught him how to be polite, how to wash behind his ears, and how to brush his teeth. I am sure Jesus had a rough time as a child. We can read in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (not included in the Bible for various reasons), and find that Jesus indeed had powers at a very early age. Interestingly enough, Jesus’ early powers are also conveyed in the Qur’an, especially in Surah 3:49 where Jesus brings a clay bird to life, but in this act, it is a sign from God carried out by Jesus. When comparing the Qur’an and this Gospel reading, Surah 3:49 reads in part, “I will bring you a sign from your lord. I will create for you out of clay the likeness of a bird; then I will breathe into it and it will become a bird, by Allah’s Leave.”

In the Infancy Gospel of Thomas one can see the stunning similarity, but in the Gospel we read how the miracle is attributed to Jesus directly. He made soft mud and out of it fashioned twelve sparrows. It was the Sabbath when he did this. There were many other children playing with him … Joseph went to the place [after he was told what Jesus was doing] … Jesus clapped his hands and called to the sparrows: ‘Off you go!’ The Sparrows flew away chirping” (Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Miller 1991, 365).

I am sure Mary must have had to teach Jesus to quell his “powers” and more, she taught him to learn how to get along with people as I am sure his powers scared many. She must have made countless meals for Jesus (even making him eat all of his vegetables), told him stories of her family’s past, shared her fears, and showered him with as much love as she could as his mother. More, it must have been incredibly difficult wondering what would happen to her son, as I am sure God clued her in a little to help her prepare Jesus to be strong in spirit, conviction, faith, and compassion. Jesus was called Rabbi, which in Hebrew is Rav, which means Master or a more common term, Teacher of the Torah. I think Mary deserves serious credit for being Jesus’ first teacher. Without her love and wisdom, Jesus surely could have turned out differently.

Today is Christmas. Today marks the day over two-thousand years ago when a young woman gave birth to a lad who would change the world. Today marks the day that we, as Christians, recognize as infinitely important and incredibly reverent. Today marks the day when a young woman let God lead her, guide her, gift her, and love her into all time. Today marks the day that Mary, Jesus’ Mother, on the contrary to what many do not recognize or even acknowledge, that not only did God love the world so much He gave His only son, but Mary loved the world so much, she had a son that she knew would one day leave her. That is sacrifice. That is love. That is hope. That is faith. That is the meaning of Christmas.

Image courtesy of www.wikimedia.org and can be found at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virgin_Mary_and_Jesus_(old_Persian_miniature).jpg