(The Law kept at the Incarnation)
( whether You agree or disagree would seem to be of little consequence, whether You have Peace in Your Heart or malice toward Your Fellow Man may be of the Utmost urgency)For the Incarnation of THE SINLESS FRUIT, (that would be Jesus), it simply could not do to have anything less then a SINLESS TREE.( that would be Mary the Blessed Virgin)
1). If The Virgin Mary were not Betrothed, at the time of the Conceiving Jesus, it would have been, by Jewish Law, a sin (on her part) for Her to become pregnant. The law only deals with the normal earthly means of man and woman, It could be supposed, because the law only needed be written for mankind, but Mary was a member of that mankind and under that law.
1a). As far as what the overshadowing in curtailed is really non of our business ..Other then to show reverence to the fact that it was, by the Authority of God, via the activity of the Holy Spirit and that Gods prophecies of The Virgin conceiving and a Savior being born for the good of mankind were fulfilled. And this is all we really need to know, and we should accept it as Joseph did.
2). If she had already experienced the Jewish marriage ceremony ( Normally anywhere from 1 to 2 years from the time of the betrothal in those days) it would have been (by Jewish Law) a sin for anyone else, other then Joseph, to cause her to become pregnant. (as long as he was alive and hadn’t divorced her) OR a reenactment of the mistake of Josephs ancestral father King David would have been needed. or something to that effect, and THAT wasn’t about to happen.
3). So as usual all actions taken were orchestrated by God and within His earthly laws, given to the Jewish people. He did this by inspiring just the right people at just the right time, to work with his will for the benefit of mankind. and thereby allowing Mary to remain sinless. (even through what had to appear at the time to the people of the Jewish community as a very precarious situation)To which My Homespun Curious Logic ..Has to Ask?
If God had pulled us through such an experience and we (you or me) were living (under the same roof) with Jesus, as Mary and Joseph did. Would she have had an easier time (then we do) staying away from even the slightest sin? Would She and Joseph have had an easier time (under their circumstances) devoting their whole hearts, minds, and all of their strength to a ministry of bringing God into the world (as we are all suppose to be doing) and remaining sinless in His Presence? (and it is realized the Pentecostal thoughts of justification that will go through some portions of our minds about now ..that “WE ARE ALL LIVING WITH GOD AT ALL TIMES” and it is true ) but am considering Mary’s life here and trying to put myself (and you) in her place…..
An appeal is being made here to my own and each persons COMMON SENSE and trying very hard to NOT take into consideration that Mary was chosen by God himself from the earliest time of earthly life and even before (as was Jeremiah) as THE prime candidate for the Ministry that would be offered to Her and was perfectly suited for it in Gods own estimation … Also it would be hard not to believe that Joseph was also chosen with the same criteria to fulfill His destiny.
An attempt is being made, to NOT look at it as though they had some “special Graces” that they didn’t “work for”….It is NOT like our God to allow us to see reflections of Himself, in others, that in one way or another haven’t “paid the price” for the privilege of being in that office of life.
Even though the reference in Johns’ (Revelation 12:5-6 and 12:14-17) would certainly appear to say Mary had been Graced beyond that of the “general populous”… as well as the Prophecy in (Revelation 12: 1) certainly looks to me to be a lot like: Our Lady of Fatima – as well as Our Lady of Guadeloupe – Our Lady of Lourdes (and quite a few of the other 111 confirmed apparitions that this old man has heard of, that God has seen fit to allow over the centuries) . But setting these things aside let us first look at the average person who is trying to bring God into this world (and remain sinless in His Presence) and some of the normal effects and responses to “temptation” , “sin”, and the normal effects of “Virtue” and Grace. AS FOLLOWS:
Have you ever noticed that if there is a particular sin you are (or were) “fond” of .. and here is a short list of a few to jumpstart the thought process…and we will stay with sickening socially acceptable ones in case there is someone in the room with you as to not cause embarrassment:Here is the list:
1). Gossiping (to include meaningless conversations or texting, which simply eat up time but are not of a real constructive nature) ….
2). Saying bad things about others in order to make ones self seem or feel better about our own personal flaws (or overstate some minor virtue in word or action to make sure others know we “are of Gods flock”)…
3). Over indulgence of allowed pleasures (to include Over eating -TV watching – Internet surfing or games – Tobacco – Booze,) ……OK me thinks we can all finish the list on our own.
But have you ever noticed that when something BIG enters your life ..these things “temporally” become meaningless .. and by “big” it is meant a trial such as: Your Dad Dies -You find out that you are “unexpectedly” pregnant – You are told you or someone very close to you has Cancer – You lose you job for a totally unjust reason…and this list could go on and on but me thinks the point is made …
When these type of “trials” (which DO “try” our character) come into our lives .. our rudimentary vice sins really “take a back seat” … as our Compassions – Fortitudes – and often Our publicly showing our Faith in God … are called to the forefront of our being and those other actions or activities (which were producing little or no good) totally disappear from the focus of our minds eye or our desire…
Would it be to far fetched to imagine that Our Father in Heaven (while not “causing” a cancer or death or pregnancy or loss of Office in life or a rude king trying to kill your child ) is aware of and utilizes these BIG happenings, and while we may see them as some form of a curse, it is His Holy Spirit that is calling our virtues (which may be what little we have left of His gifts) to the forefront in hopes that we will further embrace them? (and if you think this is far fetched please read the Book of Job)
And that our character while being “tried” or “tested” is being called to unite itself to that of Jesus and is “paying the price” for its office in life. In that while we already have those things that are dragging us down “in the back seat” we will STOP the car … open the door and insist they leave.
In other words it would seem to be a natural progression that even though Sinning causes a feeling of Guilt (which can be seen as Fear of Lord) that should lead to remorse – followed by – reconciliation – and thereby back to a quest for Virtue aiming us toward Grace …. Trials naturally lead to the coming forth (or adding to) of Virtues, which have a tendency to cause us to stay away from sin and thereby become Graced. (for seemingly in the presence of Earthly Virtue, “temptation” has less power and in the presence of Heavenly Grace temptation has NO power )…So anyway back to Mary and Joseph:
1). The Bible tells us that Mary is “Blessed among women” that She is “Full of Grace” and that “All Generations will call Me (Her) Blessed”
2). The Bible tells us that Joseph “Is a Righteous Man”. We know that he spent the bulk of His adult life in the presence of God the Son …and the Bible tells us of plenty special messages coming in dreams to Joseph by Angels sent from God the Father ..which Tradition (as well as modern charismatic thought) teaches that Gifts such as Holy Angelic Visions are generally not received by someone that is NOT in a state of Grace.
3). Together they traveled through life knowing the responsibility that THEY accepted. And encountered many major trials causing their virtues to heap virtue upon virtue …. What “Trials” did “they” have some might ask?? WELL:
3a). Easy to reckon that…Having holy people (in your own church (Temple)) tell you that He (your son) will be the downfall of many ..and a sword will pierce your soul. . wasn’t easy to hear, but may have a further humbling effect…
3b). As well as having someone like King Herod .. trying to murder your son . …. would have taken some pondering ….and made even worse when that piece of manure killed all your neighbors sons…. (the humility of this one could last a few years if it happened to you or me, especially if we knew the Books of Prophecy as well as all Jewish Families of their day and it dawned on us that we were LIVING them out)
3c). Losing the Son of God the Father for a matter of at least 3 days … could have caused a couple sleepless nights. …Scripture tells of other trials of earthly life as well (search your bible with this in mind and let me know if you find anything interesting)
Can we honestly think that “temptation” had a chance of causing either of them to cross over…. GET REAL (although me thinks, as a Father myself, that Joseph would have been “tempted” to give into anger at Herod, but common sense tells me that taking ONE LOOK at his Son ((as well as a handy message by an Angel of God telling Him to skedaddle to Egypt )) would have thrown everything back into perspective and even though worry may be inevitable, the same Virtue of Faith, that had lead them in previous and subsequent stories we “are” told about in Scripture, would keep the temptation of sinful anger away.)This old man has come to believe that NOT SINNING came quite naturally .. to This Jewish Family .
And yet some may tell me that: The Bible states that “None are without Sin” by quoting (John 1:8) therefore Mary is a sinner …. and it will be pointed out to them that, this is only one of the verses within the Good Book warning those whose pride causes them to attempt to elevate their own status by tearing down the status of others that they should spend more time working on their own humility… And that MOST of these verses are telling us to not go around attempting to prove to ourselves and “the general populous” that “we” are not sinners, and that if we do, we are liars ….
And that Tradition has proven that The Virgin Mary considered Herself to be far less then She really was. As well as that: the same Bible that attests to Her “Blessed” nature, affirms us of Her Humility within the same verses in stating that “My spirit rejoices in God My Savior”. Which is NOT some admission to BEING a sinner, but only in humility “assuming” herself to be one…for in Her true Humility she could NOT judge her own soul .. any more than WE (who have as much Pride as She has Motherly Love for us) can judge the extent of our own sins, let alone someone else’s .
We all can or should know that a Soul cannot “Magnify” (ie: Douay Rheims or King James Version) or “Glorify” (NIV version) the Lord, or Ones Spirit cannot “rejoice in God”, (and in this Scriptural record the recognition of the knowledge of the difference between Soul and Spirit are dually noted) , unless it is in a totally sinless state….
Can we imagine anyone’s Spirit rejoicing more than Mary, that day? With God Himself in Her Womb and standing in the presence of a Woman freshly “filled with the Holy Spirit” and prophesying from Her Own Humble Lips .. that… “All generations will call me Blessed”
And that the Bible is compiled for “the general populous” of all times and that although IT IS TO BE a personal guide. It was initially instituted as the gathering of Inspired Writings as Canon for use within a common Liturgy …and not necessarily a “play by play” handbook to tell us what color of car to buy.
And although Mary WAS a member of that “general” populous at one time, she of course would NOT have “read” the New Testament because She was to busy “living it” “with Jesus and Joseph and John”. And They all lived under the 613 Mitzvoth (Jewish Laws) … which may or may not have been easier to live a sinless life under, but it certainly couldn’t have been any harder than some of the piously perceived “scriptural laws” many a modern man wishes to force their memory to live under…
And that it could be found odd that so many are willing (and obviously extremely zealous) in Spirit, to be in a quest, to bring other humans to Jesus through their own intercessions, but are lacking in a heartfelt belief strong enough to allow room for others (Earthly believers but especially Saints with centuries long track records of success in that arena) to continue Their Quest of bringing ALL humans to Jesus (that all mankind may get to know The Father).. The twist of which, may be as simple as giving into the notion that “these Saints are NOT dead”, in fact more alive now that their destiny has been fulfilled. And that the overall “quest” may well be more efficient if we all took advantage of their help (gifts given to them by Our Father) which they are desirous to continue sharing with their Brothers and Sisters that are still on earth, until the last one of us has joined them in Everlasting Praise and Worship of THE TRIUNE GOD.
And hopefully after that we can at least come to an understanding that each person “interprets” Scripture in a fashion that draws from their own personal experiences in this life .. and that many have found the experience of having Mary Mother of Jesus as a personal friend to be a very positive conduit in their quest of knowing and loving Jesus.
As well as that we all need to give thanks to The Father for the privilege of a free will that allows us each the ability to come to Jesus through Scripture (in its many interpretations by the Power of The Holy Spirit ) as well as through other humans, (yourself hopefully included) in the knowledge that no one can come to The Father except through the Son..
Then maybe there will be no need to “shake the dust from our feet” (in each others direction, so to speak)… for with God all things are possible…