Mary in her own words

This blog post is a reading from my book The People Who Knew Jesus: Monologues for Advent and Lent. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the book's page on Amazon if you want to purchase the book. 

Mary

I was a young virgin who was engaged to Joseph, an older man who was a carpenter. He would be able to take good care of me.

But one day, while I was praying, the angel Gabriel visited me.  I was frightened.  Why would an angel want to talk to me?  “Hail, O favored one,” he said. Favored by who? By God?

Gabriel said that I would conceive and bear a son.  His name would be Jesus and He would be the Son of the Most High, and that He would be given the throne of his father David.  I realized that Gabriel was speaking of the Messiah. 

But I was confused.  How would be the baby be conceived if I was not yet married to Joseph?  I asked Gabriel how this would happen.  Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit would overshadow me and I would conceive, so that my son would also be the Son of God. 

Gabriel also had other news – my aunt Elizabeth was six months pregnant.  I remembered that Elizabeth and Zechariah had been praying for a baby for a long time.  I told Gabriel that I would be the Lord’s servant and bear the Son of God.

I told Joseph I was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, but he was upset. I went to visit Elizabeth.  Elizabeth’s baby leapt in her womb when he heard my voice. I stayed at Elizabeth’s house for three months and then I went home to my family.

Caesar Augustus, the Roman ruler, ordered a census and Joseph and I had to travel to Bethlehem to be counted, since that was where his family was from.  It was a long journey, especially riding on the back of a donkey, and it was close to time for baby Jesus to be born.  As soon as we got to Bethlehem, my labor pains began. 

We went to the inn, but we were too late – there were no rooms left. Joseph was angry and I was worried and in pain.  Where would baby Jesus be born?  Finally, the innkeeper offered his stable to us and Joseph accepted.  Where else could we go? At least in the stable, we would be out of the cold.

Baby Jesus was finally born, and I wrapped Him in a cloth and laid Him in the manger.  The animals looked at baby Jesus, as if they realized that their Creator had come down to visit them.  The shepherds came to the stable and told us about their angelic visitors.  They knelt down at the manger and worshiped baby Jesus.

I will never forget the night Jesus was born.  The world’s long wait was over; the Savior had finally come down to the earth He created, in the form of a child.  And I was blessed to be the Savior’s mother.

Thanks as always for reading! And Merry Christmas! 

Diane

Joseph in his own words

This blog post is a reading from my book The People Who Knew Jesus: Monologues for Advent and Lent. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the book's page on Amazon if you want to purchase the book.

Joseph

Mary and I were engaged to be married.  But before we could be married, it was discovered that she was going to have a baby.

I was hesitant to stay engaged to Mary after she told me she was with child. Her story that the baby’s father was the Holy Spirit was even more suspicious.  I thought to divorce her privately, so as not to cause her any shame. 

Mary left after her confession to spend some time with her aunt Elizabeth, who was with child.  Mary thought that by the time she returned that everything would be settled.  

I was still uncertain as to whether or not to divorce Mary.  But the angel of the Lord came to me one night in a dream.  He told me not to be afraid to take Mary as my wife.  He also told me that Mary had been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and that the baby in her womb would be a boy.  The angel said I should name the baby Jesus, because He would save people from their sins.  After that visit from the angel, I decided not to divorce Mary.

Caesar Augustus had decreed that every male had to travel to his hometown to be counted in a census.  Since my family was from Bethlehem, Mary and I had to travel there to be registered.  But when we got to Bethlehem, Mary said that it was time for the baby to come. 

I was worried.  We finally arrived at Bethlehem’s only inn, but the innkeeper said that all of his rooms were full and there was no place for Mary to have the baby.  He offered us the stable, so I accepted it.  What else could I do?  I hoped and prayed that everything would be all right.

It didn’t take long for baby Jesus to arrive.  He was a beautiful Child.  Great love stirred in my heart as I looked into His face, and I knew that I would protect Him and be the earthly father He deserved.  

The next blog post will be from Mary in her own words. Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!

Diane

The Shepherd in his own words

This blog post is a reading from my book The People Who Knew Jesus: Monologues for Advent and Lent. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the book's page on Amazon if you want to purchase the book.

The Shepherd

It was just another cold, dark night out in the fields.  Some of the other shepherds and I were taking turns watching over the sheep to protect them.  The only things we saw in the sky that night were a few stars.  I was on watch, so the rest of the shepherds were asleep.

Suddenly, an angel appeared in the sky.  I thought I was dreaming. I was very scared. Why would an angel appear to shepherds? Prophets were the only ones who saw angels. Then the angel said, “Do not be afraid. I come to bring you tidings of great joy.  You will find a baby lying in a manger, which is Christ the Lord.”  I woke up the other shepherds to see the angel. 

Then a large group of angels appeared with the angel.  They sang, “Glory to God in the highest! And goodwill to men, with who He is pleased.”  It was so beautiful.  It was a sight I will never forget.

After the angels had left, I told the other shepherds, “We must go find the baby. We must go see the Messiah, who was promised of old.”  Someone had to watch the sheep while we went to Bethlehem, so one of the other shepherds stayed behind with the sheep.

We found the stable next to the inn.  And Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus were in the stable.  The baby was all wrapped up and lying in a manger, asleep.  The animals watched over the little family.  We bowed our knees and got up close to the manager to get a closer look at the baby Jesus.  We told Mary and Joseph about the angels who had appeared to us in the fields.  Mary smiled and it looked like she was thinking about what we had told her. On our way back to the fields, we met the innkeeper.  We told him about our angelic visitors and the baby Messiah in his stable. 

We went back out to the fields and I thought about what we had seen and heard.  Shepherds were the lowest of the low, but we were the first ones to hear about the newborn Messiah!  It was a night I will never forget.

In the next blog post, we'll hear from Joseph, Jesus' earthly father. Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

 

The Innkeeper in his own words

This blog post is a reading from my book The People Who Knew Jesus: Monologues for Advent and Lent. If you click on the link, you'll be taken to the book's page on Amazon if you want to purchase the book.

The Innkeeper

There were so many people in Bethlehem that day.  They had come to town because of the census that Caesar Augustus had decreed.  I own the only inn in town, and every room was full because of the census.  There were no more rooms left for me to rent out when Joseph and Mary came to the door.  They didn’t get here in time.

Joseph was very angry when I told him that there were no more rooms available.  “Can’t you see that Mary is in pain?” he asked.  “It is time for her to be delivered.  Are you sure there are no rooms available?”

The only other room available was the room my wife and I slept in, and if I gave that up, where would we sleep?  I thought for a moment.  “I do have a place,” I told Joseph, “if you don’t mind staying in the stable with the animals.”  Joseph nodded. 

I took Mary and Joseph to the stable and made them a bed in the hay.  I made sure that there was plenty of hay for them to stay warm.  Then I went back to the inn.

I had trouble sleeping that night, so I put on my robe and went outside.  Some shepherds ran up to greet me.  They told me that the baby Messiah was lying in the manger of my stable, and that angels had told them about the baby. The Messiah? Here in my stable? I had to go and see. And there was Mary and Joseph, with the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger.

I went back to bed and told my wife. She was very angry with me. “A woman was having a baby and you put her in the stable? Tomorrow we will find a place for them to stay. A stable is no place for a baby,” she said.

Especially when that baby was the Messiah, the Redeemer that the Jews had been praying to see for many centuries. And I was one of the first to see the Messiah, lying in that manger bed. I will never forget that night as long as I live.

Stay tuned - the next post will feature the shepherd in his own words. Thanks for reading! See you next time! 

Diane