Isaiah 7:14
As I entered my eighth month, all the talk in our town was about the economic pressures that our people were experiencing. Rome was demanding all of us to pay a tribute to the Empire. We also had to pay taxes to Herod. And all of this was in addition to the tithes and offerings to the Temple. Many of our village families were falling into debt and were faced with loss of their family inheritance of land.
Joseph and I were making ends meet as humbly as possible. Joseph was a good carpenter and his reputation had expanded outside of Nazareth, so he was receiving request for work not just from out town but from the surrounding towns in Galilee, and even from the region of Judea. But if Herod kept increasing his taxes, soon it would not be sufficient to maintain our little family of three.
As I worked on the swaddling clothes and coverlets for our baby, I was pondering within the silence of my heart, a conversation that I overheard in the morning, when I went down to the town to buy oil. My brother-in-law, Clopas, was having a discussion with Ananias, the potter:
“I cannot put up anymore with these Romans,” Ananias was saying. “They think they own everything. But they will pay the price when the Messiah comes. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”
“The Messiah? And when is He going to come?” replied Clopas. “While we wait for Him, these bastards are bleeding us dry. I’m tired of waiting for a Messiah that is simply not coming.”
As I finished the hem for the coverlet, I was having a conversation with my Son:
“Emmanuel, what will be your true mission as the Messiah?”
Isaiah spoke of a “virgin (who) will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Emmanuel.” (1) Emmanuel means “God is with us.” I had heard the rabbi read this scripture in the synagogue many times. Now, knowing that I was that virgin, I would refer to my Son as Emmanuel when I spoke to Him.
According to our tradition, the Messiah would be a descendant of King David, gain sovereignty over the land of Israel, gather the Jews there from the four corners of the earth, restore them to full observance of Torah law, and liberate Israel from the slavery to foreign rulers. Most people in Galilee were waiting for a Messiah that would liberate them from the Roman rulers. In other words, they were waiting for a political leader. They knew how Isaiah referred to the Messiah: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (2) And thus, they awaited the arrival of the blessed and anointed Chosen One.
“Will my Son arrive with sword in hand ready to avenge His people?” I would ask myself with an anxious heart. But I could not reconcile that image with the peace that I felt within me. The title “Prince of Peace” seemed more in line with what I felt.
At night, when Joseph and I sat together to share our daily experiences, sometimes outside if the weather was good, and others inside since the days were getting chillier, I would tell him about my fears: “If they are expecting a warrior, they will not be happy with a Messiah that was born right next door from a poor peasant girl.” But Joseph, in his wise and quiet ways, would calm my fears by telling me that God has a plan, and we just have to wait until it unravels.
Reflection:
It is in the life of a teenage girl, in a hidden town in Israel, that God enters the world directly. What else is God doing in hidden places, right now? What is God doing in the hidden part of my heart, the one that I don’t share with anyone?
Copyright © 2019 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.
References:
1. Isaiah 7:14
2. Isaiah 9:6
Resources from the following books are being used on this journey:
1. The Mystical City of God: A Popular Abridgement of the Divine History and Live of the Virgin Mother of God by Venerable Mary of Agreda
2. The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Fulton J. Sheen
3. Las Palabras Calladas: Diario de Maria de Nazaret by Pedro Miguel Lamet
4. My Soul Magnifies the Lord: A Scriptural Journey with Mary by Jeanne Kun
All Bible references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise specified.
References:
1. Isaiah 7:14
2. Isaiah 9:6
Resources from the following books are being used on this journey:
1. The Mystical City of God: A Popular Abridgement of the Divine History and Live of the Virgin Mother of God by Venerable Mary of Agreda
2. The World’s First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Fulton J. Sheen
3. Las Palabras Calladas: Diario de Maria de Nazaret by Pedro Miguel Lamet
4. My Soul Magnifies the Lord: A Scriptural Journey with Mary by Jeanne Kun
All Bible references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise specified.
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