ALIVE: Chapter 99, Family Reunion

Mary woke up naturally every morning to greet the sun. She loved the feeling of waking up. Often she would open her eyes in her still dark dormitory and listen to the cacophony of girls breathing and snoring. Then she watched as the light oh so gradually illuminated her spacious room as if by magic. 

Every morning she felt in awe of the way light dispersed throughout the room evenly and with no form of its own, but rather light transformed the air from its darkness. On some mornings, while she watched, she pondered about the moment God said, “Light be.” How amazing that moment must have been for God. She imagined that the Light started from within Him, from His very core and burst forth like an aria. Or, she wondered if it was like morning in her dark dormitory room where it started with dimness and grew very very slowly until it extinguished the night. And if there was no heaven yet, did the light just linger inside God? With so many questions like this one, Mary simply shrugged her young shoulders, sad that she could never know. There was so much she wanted to know about God, about the God they read about, and sung to and worshipped. 

On this morning Mary stretched a good long stretch, then rolled over and ever so quietly put her feet on the cold hard floor and stood up, then she picked up the dress at the foot of her bed and changed out of her nightgown quietly and creeped out of the building to walk alone at dawn. She traced the steps she took with her father and mother on the day they had the picnic together. She tiptoed passed the busy kitchen building and walked the path through the herb garden to the rose garden. She washed her hands and then her face in the fountain. The water coming from deep inside the earth felt so cool and good on her face. She cupped her hand under it and took a long drink. She felt the water traveling down her throat and into her chest refreshing and watering her body. What a gift, what a blessing water is! Mary walked over to the bench, looked at it carefully to remember the very spot where her papa sat only a few months earlier, and there she placed herself in the echo of his being. She closed her eyes to thank the Lord for such a kind and gentle papa. She asked Him to watch over him in Sheol, and then wondered if that was possible.

This was the morning that God ordered a new regimen of angels to stand guard over Mary, also to be headed by the archangel Gabriel. The old guard specialized in children, but now Mary, without an earthly father was becoming a young woman. The vacuum that Joachim left was being filled with a divine passion for the Heavenly Father. Joachim had taught, her by his deep abiding love for her, to know God for His kindness. The angels watched over her to protect her heart from the knowledge of evil and its poisonous fruit. Being raised out of the world with its lusts and passions, with vengeance and ignorances, was her first layer of protection.

Like a prize winning rose, Mary lived in a world with the perfect conditions of sunshine and water, of rest and of growth. The house mother showed her, when she had to correct other girls how God chastises with love, not with vengeance; Mary was alert to how she did that. She marveled at how the mother never made a girl feel inferior or ashamed. After being chastised by mother, the girl walked away wanting to please her. In this way mother aimed to heal the soul that strayed from the golden path as she would say. The temple life was an incubator of love and faith in the real and awesome God; it was the rich loamy soil that welcomed roots to grow deep within it, so the tree could reach for the heavens where God dwells. The temple where Mary was raised was a place where worship percolated naturally like a warm spring.

Sitting in the space her father had occupied gave Mary a sense of comfort; she imagined that her papa’s energy was still there, so she closed her eyes and tried to feel him and to smell him with her memory.

Suddenly Mary opened her eyes and remembered that it must be late and the others would be looking for her. She looked for the position of the sun and then quickly made her way to the dining room for breakfast. 

At breakfast, a messenger boy entered the dining room and announced that Mary’s mother would be coming for her to go to the valley of Josaphat.

“Oh! That’s right! I nearly forgot.” thought Mary, “Today is the day that papa’s bones are arriving from Nazareth and we will lay them in the tomb that mama had built for our family. No  wonder I have been thinking about papa so much lately!”

Anna arrived promptly at high noon to fetch Mary who was waiting for her at the front door of the school building holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand. The chief priest stood by her side waiting with her. They did not speak to each other. 

But when Anna approached he said, “Greetings Anna. What a beautiful day the Lord has given to us. Before we know it, Passover will be upon us.”

Anna who had walked from her home to the temple, approached the priest with a smile and extended her hand. Then she turned to her daughter for a hug and a peck on the cheek. Mary smelled like a breath of fresh air and Anna soon realized that the fragrance was coming from the flowers.

“Mama, I cut flowers for papa this morning!”

“How thoughtful my dear. I am sure he will love them.”

Mary looked down at her flowers to take in another glimpse of their colors and the velvety texture of some of the petals. 

“We must be going now.” said the priest tapping his cane on the ground to get the ladies’ attention. “Will they meet us there?”

“Yes,” replied Anna. “Together yesterday we received the ossuary from the caravan. Reuben took Joachim to his home. He may be at the tomb already. Yes, let’s be going.” 

Indeed, by the time Anna, Mary and the priest arrived at the tomb, Reuben with the ossuary were waiting for them. 

“What a lovely tomb you have built here Anna. Mazel Tov. May peace be upon your family, Alav ha-shalom, until the Messiah comes. Let us pray.”

The priest received the ossuary from Reuben who then opened the door of the tomb and the priest carefully placed Joachim’s bones in their final, most majestic resting place. 

Anna watched thinking of the day she would rejoined him in there. Tears filled Mary’s eyes, but she controlled her emotions lest she make a scene, of which she knew her father would not have approved. She listened very attentively as the priest prayed, 

“God, filled with mercy, dwelling in the heavens' heights, bring proper rest beneath the wings of your Shechinah, amid the ranks of the holy and the pure, illuminating like the brilliance of the skies the soul of our beloved Joachim, our blameless one who went to his eternal place of rest. May You who are the source of mercy shelter him beneath Your wings eternally, and bind his soul among the living, that he may rest in peace. And let us say: Amen”

Anna and Mary chanted Amen and Alleluia with such beautiful harmony that Reuben and the priest were taken aback. In fact several moments of silence followed the glorious chant to allow the sound to gradually rise into the heavens. 

The ladies bent down on their knees and kissed the ground and then taking turns they kissed the tomb. 

Anna, filled with mixed emotions of grief and joy, grief over her loss and joy in her faith in God and her love of life, turned to the priest who extended his hand to her. Anna received his hand and bowed her head to kiss it. Then Mary followed her mother and kissed the hand of the priest. Expressions of gratitude for each other and for the shared intensity of the moment followed as the little group of Joachim’s mourners prepared to disband. Each of the four people were aware that he and she was walking away from the most solemn moment of the day, perhaps of the week. Reuben and the priest were the first to leave. Anna and Mary were not ready to tear themselves away. The ladies stood in silence for several moments to allow the love of Joachim’s soul to, dare I say, to almost materialize. Like sound and light.  So real was his presence to each of them. 

Anna gazed at her lovely daughter, aware of how deeply she loved her papa, and he loved her. After all, they shared common blood, common fathers and grandfathers and mothers. As much as she loved Her husband, Anna knew that Mary was linked to Joachim in a way that Anna was not. Deep within Mary lay Joachim’s mother and father and his grandparents welling up in her soul. But, Mary was linked also to herself. Mary was the fruit of their love and of their union. Once again Anna was profoundly grateful for this miracle child, and prayed “Lord, may our Mary bring You joy with her life as she has brought us. May she, in purity and innocence serve You and worship You, the Almighty God.”

Mary who was looking around at all the tombs and up in the sky at the birds flying freely, looked over at her mama and said, “Mama have you ever been to Mount Olivet? You know how papa liked to hike up the mountains? Do you want to do that? It is not too late yet. We could go to the Mount of Olives, or Calvary. Want to?” 

“Oh my dear, I don’t think I can do either. Let’s go to our garden plot in Gethesmene. I want to show you what I did there this week. You will have to take your young girlfriends for the hike someday. We need to start planning for Passover! Your aunts and uncles are coming soon!” replied the elderly Anna, sorry to be disappointing her Mary. 

Mother and daughter walked away from Joachim’s bones to the garden where Mary’s Son in the future would often go to pray, to speak with His Father for guidance, for council, for comfort, and one morning before the dawn to await His betrayer. Sitting together in the garden mother and daughter alternated between silence and chatting about Passover. Each lady was absorbing the sounds and sights around them mixed with their thoughts, like a garden of fragrant flowers and weeds, sticks and herbs. 

When they arrived, Mary was amazed at how beautiful the garden was and how many plants and shrubs had grown since her last visit. “Oh mama! You must have worked so hard, look at this! It is lovely!”

“Thank you darling. Yes, it has been a labor of love, but also of therapy. I spend my days, whenever I can, working the earth; come and look at these roses!” Anna lead Mary to her rose bed. The roses were in full bloom and plentiful. Anna proudly showed Mary her  pure white roses and shy pink ones, perky yellows and deep blood reds. “Oh mama, let me come and help you one day.”

“Of course you can my dear, there is always work to be done, especially weeding! They are relentless! But now, let’s sit on the bench and talk about Passover.”

The ladies talked for over an hour about the plans Anna had made for her sisters and their families. Mary told her mother that she was granted permission for her family to celebrate the Seders at the temple. Anna was delighted with the idea and offered to bring anything they would ask of her. 

Eventually the sun descended low enough in the sky that Mary thought she had better return to her home. 

“Oh mama, I have enjoyed our day so much that I forgot completely about school! I must be getting back!” 

“Of course you must, go! I will stay here for a few more moments.” Mary stood up and gave her a kiss good bye, saying, “Oh mama, I love you so much. I am so grateful that you live here now. Bye bye.”

Anna replied, “Remember, in two weeks, the family will arrive. Ask if you can spend the first day in the city with your cousins, okay?” 

“Oh yes, that will be so much fun.” And with that Mary called out “Shalom!” as she departed.

Anna followed her with her eyes until she could see her no more. And then she contemplated the day, the full and glorious day. What a gift it had been.

…

A week later the family from Bethlehem arrived on the caravan together to celebrate the Passover with their newly widowed sister in Jerusalem. Anna met them and after hugs and handshakes led them to the rooms she had reserved at the establishment where she and Joachim had always stayed. There was a room for her sister Mary and her husband, and one for Salome and her husband. Salome’s daughter Elizabeth, now married to Zecheriah had a room of their own. The children had to sleep on the floors of their parents’ rooms, but none of them minded. 

The sisters were thrilled that Anna had arranged for her family to share the Passover Seders at the Temple with Mary. What an honor that was.

The following day Zecheriah and Elizabeth walked to the temple together. When they arrived, they parted as men and women always did. Zecheriah went to meet with the chief priest and Elizabeth went to find her young cousin Mary. She was directed to the entrance of the school where she was told where to find the mother’s office. Elizabeth was in awe of the grandeur of the building as she looked around and saw all the handiwork in carved stones that encircled the columns, pelicans and elephants and floral designs. When she arrived at the door she knocked gently to prevent offending the sanctity of the space, but when she heard nothing Elizabeth ventured to knock a little louder. “Enter!” She heard from inside the room. She gently opened the door to find a mature woman with kind blue eyes surprised to see her. “Hello, excuse me, I expected someone else. May I help you?” 

“Yes, my name is Elizabeth and I am the cousin of one of your students, Mary daughter of Joachim and Anna. My family has come from Bethlehem for the Passover. My husband is a priest so he brought me here to visit the chief priest. We thought I could spend some time with my cousin. Is that possible?”

“Welcome! Of course it is. Let’s go look for her together.” replied mother graciously. 

Elizabeth walked briskly besides mother down one corridor and another peeking in rooms without doors until mother spotted Mary and she called, “Mary, you have a visitor!”

Mary looked up and over at Elizabeth curiously for it had been many years since they had been together and both ladies had developed very different appearances. Yet, Mary quickly intuited that this was her cousin Elizabeth, and with a bright face she cheerfully went over to Elizabeth to give her a hug and welcome her. “How wonderful to see you! Mother, may I be excused from school today?”

“Of course you may, but be at worship this evening. It was a pleasure meeting you Elizabeth. I pray that you enjoy your stay in Jerusalem.”

“Thank you, mam. I am certain that I will.” And after hearing that, mother returned to her office and Mary gathered her things and bade her teacher and classmates goodbye.”

Mary took Elizabeth to her favorite spot in the rose garden and the cousins spoke for hours. Mary looked up to Elizabeth like a big sister. Elizabeth asked Mary what the school was like, and what they learned. And Elizabeth told Mary how pleasant it was to have a husband to care for, and who watched over her. The older girl and the younger cousin talked about their mothers and their common aunt, and Elizabeth described Bethlehem for her curious cousin. There was nothing under the sun that the girls did not talk to each other about. Their relationship blossomed on that day. The special reunion was halted abruptly by the sound of the shofar calling them to worship. 

“Oh my,” said Mary, “we must go. Will you come with me?”

“Yes, I’d love to. I’m sure Zecheriah will be there. How else can I find him?” 

Off they went to worship their Lord, filled with the joy of love and admiration for each other, two icons of God, returning to their source. 

...

That night as Mary lay in her bed waiting for sleep to come, she ruminated about her older married cousin who was so happy, and she wondered if it was possible to be married and still keep her vow to the Lord to be a Virgin forever. Without a conclusion, a gentle sleep came over Mary from her guardian angel who knew when and how to calm her active mind.

Passover Seder at the Temple was a mystical experience with the whole  family. The entire synagogue was one big family, although from different tribes and mixed tribes. Strangers became brothers. The chief priest presided. This helped Anna a lot. Traditionally, Joachim lead the Seder meal. To be in such a large warm gathering alleviated the sting of Joachim’s absence. 

That week, the younger cousins, even Elizabeth and Zecheriah hiked up the Mt of Olives in memory of Joachim, and they went shopping in the city. They also all went to the tomb of David. It was such a wonderful family reunion. Mary spent a lot of time with her cousins. 

When the Passover week ended and it was time for the family to return to Bethlehem, the cousins felt nourished by their joy and love for each other renewed. Mary and Elizabeth hugged a good long hug of sisterhood. After they separated Elizabeth told Zecheriah “You know, I sense that there is something very special about that girl, I just don’t know what it is, I can’t put my finger on it, but she is unique!” Zecheriah replied, “How many girls, or boys for that matter, who have been raised in the temple do you know?”

“Okay okay, you can say that, but I still think she is special.”