ALIVE: Chapter 92 The Little Queen

Joachim loved his baby girl more than he thought he would when imagining his quiet life disrupted by a child in the home. Surprisingly he sensed a mystical peacefulness when he held her, or when he simply glanced over at her in the cradle or at her mother’s breast. For this reason Joachim always wanted to be near Mary, but alas he had to tend his flock and buy and sell to earn for his family, for the poor, and for the Temple. The temple that he didn’t forsake even after his sacrifice was rejected, even now.

After the birth, Anna felt herself changing in her spirit as much as she had changed physically during pregnancy. Like a thick blood-red wine being poured into a delicate crystal decanter Anna felt herself pouring into her infant. Every waking moment and several times in the night when the baby woke her up Anna needed to care for the infant one way or another, non stop. She carried her in the sling while she tried to do her chores, she walked with her in the sunshine, she bathed her, she showed her off to the curious women of the village; she nursed her frequently, and rocked her to sleep. When the baby grew out of the cradle she moved into her parent’s bed where Anna cuddled her through the night, glad not have to get up as she did to fetch the whimpering infant from the cradle. It was no longer Anna who lived, but Anna and Mary who lived as one even though Mary was now outside her womb. She did everything for her baby but breathe. And yet her love was so strong and her gratitude to God so great that in her exhaustion Anna never complained.

During one quiet moment while her holy baby Mary fell asleep in her arms after nursing, and Anna didn’t dare risk waking her up by setting her on the bed; paralyzed, Anna was forced to sit and think. It then occurred to her why the Lord had her wait nearly a whole lifetime before He granted her this child. Her years full of experiences and her maturity formed her into a patient, more appreciative, more calm mother than she would have been at eighteen or twenty. Knowing that this was her one and only child, Anna exalted in observing every moment of the baby’s growth.  With the perspective of someone standing on a hill, she watched the days, weeks, and months pass like a flowing river, always the same and always new. Time. It was so fluid and so precious. The baby grew and laughed and cried and grew bigger and fuller. Her rosy round cheeks and her laughing eyes filled her mother’s heart with a joy she had never known. And when little Mary cried, Anna was patient as she tried different things, looking for the reason of the discomfort and relished when something she tried worked. Sometimes it was to jiggle her and pat her on the back, other times it was to peer into her baby brown eyes and then cover her own face with her hands and say ZZZA! (Peek a boo) over and over again until Mary’s sobs turned to giggles. 

These were the halcyon days of life and Anna knew it. No other source of happiness could compare to motherhood. How she wished she could stop the river, or paddle upstream and revisit the very first thrilling weeks of Mary’s life. 

By some inexplicable cause unless it was divine, Joachim was always present for watershed moments in Mary’s development, when Anna first fed her cereal, when she first crawled and lifted herself to standing, when she spoke her first word, “gaga” as she drooled laughing. Joachim was the proudest father in all of Nazareth. It never mattered to Joachim that the younger fathers were not as enthusiastic about their gaggle of children. He never sought their advise but rather patiently accepted the intrusions into his old routine as they came. 

It was on a bright sunny Sabbath when Joachim was playing with Mary and a stuffed toy that a neighbor had made for her that he watched in awe as the baby pulled herself up on her feet by grabbing the cloth that covered the couch. Joachim had seen her do this before, but he didn’t expect to see Mary turn her head and flash her papa a smile as she released one hand’s grip on the cloth, and pivot her body around, let go and step toward her papa. Wide eyed Joachim cheered, which surprised Mary into falling. And falling into crying. Joachim scooped his baby girl into his arms and told her how proud of her he was. 

Then he carried the baby over to Anna who wiped her hands on her apron and received her crying toddler. 

“When should we remind them that they will soon have to give their precious child to the temple?” said baby Mary’s guardian angel to the other two in the room.

“What a spoil sport you are!” exclaimed Joachim’s angel. “Leave them alone. We have plenty of time.”

“I agree they need to be reminded.” chimed in Anna’s angel. Mary’s angel, being of a higher rank allowed the two angels to argue before announcing, “No. There is time. I just think we need to make plans. For now, we will let the family rejoice in their love for each other, that the nucleus may be strong.”

Anna looked forward Mary’s first birthday. They were so proud of their blessed baby girl. One evening while Mary was bouncing cheerfully on her papa’s knee and Anna was cleaning and snipping green beans, Anna decided it was a good time to divulge her idea. “Joachim, what do you think of having a big party to celebrate Mary’s first birthday?”

Joachim smiled because he had been thinking the same thing and wondered if Anna read his mind or if he read hers. Yet, he replied nonchalantly, “Yes. Let’s do that. We will invite the scribes and priests and the elders, and all of our friends. The weather is good, we will have it in the south field. I will have my servants set it up and build the fire pit to cook the fatted calf.”

“We will need tables and chairs too. I will make the cake, and have friends make the hummus. Oh this is going to be a wonderful party! I will make her a pretty birthday dress!” exclaimed Anna. Mary sensed her parents’ enthusiasm and giggled with them as she was mouthing her toy and drooling. 

...

The event was a success. Before the meal Joachim brought the child to the elders who were sitting together for their blessing. Benonah placed his hand on the baby’s forehead and said: 'O God of our fathers, bless this child, and give her an everlasting name to be named in all generations.' 

Then Joachim carried his precious princess over to where the chief priest was sitting and held her out to him for a blessing, and the chief priest too blessed her, saying: 'O God most high, look upon this child, and bless her with the utmost blessing, which shall be for ever.'” After proclaiming the blessing Joachim, Anna and their freshly blessed baby sat down together. The eldest priest whose eyes had grown dim over the years spoke, “This child is holy. You would consider well to separate her from this dangerous world and bring her to the temple to be raised in peace and protection.”

These words stung Anna’s heart. In the year or more that transpired since she had the vision from the angel, she had forgotten the line about the baby being raised in the Temple. Or she wanted to forget. How could she be separated from her precious gift, her bubbly baby girl. She immediately rejected the notion in her heart, but outwardly smiled falsely and struggled to nod.

The elder continued. “In your home there is much bustling work to be done. The world enters daily with its distractions. This child should be set aside from such activity that she may worship the Lord and learn the Torah and the psalms. We will protect her from the snares of the devil.”

Joachim nodded obediently while in his heart he too was conflicted, while Anna listened. How could she reject the offer to protect her child from the devil and his world? Anna remained silent while clasping her baby girl to her breast. Joachim replied, “We will give that much prayer and consideration. Thank you rabbi.”  At that, the family stood up and shook the hand of the elder.

“I must go change her diaper.” Gripping Mary, Anna scurried away to fetch her supplies and find a private place to clean and freshen up the birthday girl. Weeping, Anna decided not to think about sending her precious child away, at least not for a year or two. 

In the end, the big birthday celebration brought the parents more grief than joy. Where they had treasured every moment with their little girl watching her grow and delighting in her cheerful antics, a suffocating feeling came over each of them from time to time. One night Anna dreamt that the baby was placed in a vault and submerged deep in the earth. She woke up in a sweat, grateful for reality. She didn’t dare reveal her nightmare to Joachim, as the poor father was upset enough. This child had rejuvenated him and given him a new purpose.

Early several mornings after the birthday party, before he went off to work Joachim heard a loud wrap on his door. He opened it and was stunned to see a messenger boy, “The chief priest summons you to come to him ...now.” 

“Who is it Joachim?”

“The chief priest wants to talk to me. Tell my servants to go ahead with the flock and I will meet them later. I’ll be back.” With that Joachim grabbed his outer garment and followed the messenger although he already knew the way.

“Welcome Joachim, please sit down.” Joachim felt like he was the subject of a tribunal. He didn’t know what they wanted to tell him beyond what they had said at the party, which he still hadn’t come to terms with. He was right, they just wanted to reiterate the dictum that Mary should be cloistered but allowed that the child should be weaned first.

“Couldn’t we have done this in a more gentle way. I thought we wanted to wait?” said Anna’s guardian angel to the others. 

Mary’s angel was the first to reply, “It was kinder to give them more time to adjust. Joachim needed the firm authority. He couldn’t have been persuaded otherwise.”

Joachim’s angel added, “I’ll take it from here, after I’m through he will gladly hand his princess to the Temple.”  The angels then dispersed each to its own charge. 

For the next year the little family lived in a double state of consciousness. Still exuberant about their blessing of the cheerful growing baby girl and sad that they would probably have to give her up, for how could they deny the elders, and the Lord God Himself if this be His will? 

One sunny day in 11 BC, Joachim decided to take his flock back up the mountain where he had gone the day they returned from their shameful rejection in Jerusalem. Again, he huffed and puffed to reach the top where his lambs and goats which had arrived first busily munched the earth’s produce. Joachim plopped himself on a large boulder and surveyed the small world beneath him and the vast sky that surrounded him. As he sat there, he was reminded of the day Abraham brought Isaac to be sacrificed on the mountaintop. He marveled at how willingly Isaac accompanied his father. He thought of how many more years Abraham waited for this promise child than he waited for Mary, almost forty more years, and how without grief or complaint it is written that Abraham obeyed the Lord. 

Isaac being a boy and not a baby, Joachim thought of how much more his father and he had grown together in love and companionship before Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son to Yahweh? And how much greater was Abraham’s sacrifice when Joachim would be able to visit his daughter in her safe and sacred home from time to time; Father Abraham was willing to send his son to Sheol!  Did not Abraham’s blood course through his own veins? Was his faith so weak? Joachim's gnawing grief turned to embarrassment and then resolve and he looked forward to sharing these realizations with Anna. 

Anna’s angel was equally doing its work for the Lord. Again, as often happened while Anna held the sleeping baby in her arms, rather than risk waking her she reached deep in her vast trove of  knowledge of scripture and remembered Hannah, the elderly barren mother of the prophet Samuel, how Hannah was so grateful that she handed her treasured son to the Temple to be raised in the knowledge and worship of the Lord. Would Samuel have become such a great prophet, had it not been for this upbringing? Who would have known to select King David had it not been for the sensitivity and holiness of Samuel? But she had a daughter?! Was it at all possible that a girl child could ever be as holy as the Prophet Samuel? She reached into her bank of knowledge and thought of Miriam, Ruth, Diane, Esther, but none of these ladies, as faithful as they were could compare to the prophet. Could this child possibly become as great as Samuel?

Anna immediately rejected the thought as a sin. A grave and arrogant sin, but with it came the notion that her education and formation in the Temple, like Samuel’s, was God’s Will. Then, suddenly the visit of the angel came to Anna’s mind. She remembered how he foretold that the child would be sent to the Temple. This memory jarred Anna into the realization that she needed to set aside her will, and obey. She needed to obey the priests and angel, even as she constantly set her own will aside to obey the precious baby. Love makes obedience easy. Did she love God enough? She gazed at her sleeping baby in wonder of what God could possibly have in store for this girl. 

...

Mary’s third year with her parents was adorned with the sheer joyousness they felt in the beginning. The love of God which knows no boundaries, true love that cared more for the beloved than for themselves filled mother and father to the brim of consciousness. It was no longer a grieving consciousness but a brave and faithful, yielding consciousness, fully abandoned to the will of God.

During her third year Mary learned quickly how to speak. She jabbered merrily to herself and her dolls while playing. She learned short prayers by heart and she learned to sing alleluia. Her rosy cheeks, milky white skin glowed and her big brown eyes sparkled with the same contentment that her elderly parents had come to know. Using their ability to communicate and reason, Joachim and Anna prepared their daughter as they prepared themselves for the upcoming separation telling her that ‘She was indeed special. Because God and her parents loved her so much, they wanted her to live with the other special people of God who sing like she likes to sing and who tell stories about God and His people Israel.’ 

On the day that Joachim and Anna presented their daughter Mary to the temple everyone was ready. Joachim had prepared for the transport which carried their treasured daughter and a small trunk of her beloved dolls and her clothing. The angels flew closely alongside the caravan to Jerusalem. 

One in Jerusalem, they were deposited at the depot, and needed to find transport to the Temple. After more than a half an hour a man came by with a donkey and offered his services. Anna and her little three year old Mary climbed onto to the donkey’s back while a second ass carried the luggage. Joachim held the lead of the donkey that carried his precious daughter and wife. They meandered through the stony streets of Jerusalem completely unaware of Mary’s similar procession to Bethlehem, and her son’s similar procession into Jerusalem when he would be hailed with palms tossed on the ground before Him, like a ruby red carpet for a king.