Only God can understand 

the complexities of our hearts and minds.

A prayer about talking too much

 Help me to become a flowing brook

and not a babbling stream.

 TELLING THE BEADS

An Imagining of the Life of Jesus

This is a story of real people.

It is also a story of angels and dreams, of journeys and visits -  

of birth and death and of resurrection.

 It began, around two thousand years ago, with the appearance of a new star,

rising in the east and settling above a stable in Bethlehem.

The name of that star is Jesus and he is still shining today,

for all to see, if they should but look for him.

PART ONE - OF JOY AND OF SORROW

Bead 1 - Of Angels and Dreams

Episode 1 - Mary’s Story

Mary was a lovely girl. Everyone said so. She lived in a small village in Israel with her mother, Anne, and her father, Joachim. She had grown up surrounded by the love of her parents and friends, playing with the other children in the village, known throughout the neighbourhood for her sweet nature and loving ways, always helpful, always with a smile on her face. She had been taught and had come to know and love the Holy Scriptures and the Jewish faith of her people.

The Jewish people, unlike others, had always held to the belief of Abraham, the father of their faith, that there was only one God, and that it was this God who had created the entire universe and all it contained. They had been taught by their great leaders and prophets to live according to the commandments of God but had often strayed from those ways. They had also made enemies along the way but God had promised to send a Saviour who would set them free and lead them along the right path and the people were waiting expectantly for the day of his coming.  

Mary had been betrothed for some time to Joseph, the village carpenter. She had known him all her life as a close friend of her parents. They were an older couple, having waited a long time for the birth of their beloved daughter. Joseph was older than Mary but Anne and Joachim had been more than happy to give her into the care of such a good man. All through her childhood, she had popped in and out of his workshop and he had spent many a happy evening in their home, chatting and laughing, a part of the family. 

Joseph had loved Mary for as long as he could remember and Mary had grown to love him deeply in return. They had made their solemn vows of betrothal and were looking forward to the day when they would be joined in marriage. One morning in early spring, Mary happened to be alone in the house. Her mother had gone to the market and her father was working outside. She had been helping about the house during the morning when, on entering her own room at around midday, she became aware of an atmosphere of stillness and peace. 

As she gazed around the room, she beheld a vision of light and knew at once that she was in the presence of an angel. The angel began to speak to her. "Mary, my name is Gabriel and I have been sent by God to bring you a message of great joy.” Mary was, at first, deeply puzzled, wondering what this message could possibly be but the angel spoke again in such a kindly way that she began to feel reassured. 

"Don't be afraid, Mary,” Gabriel continued. “You are so completely full of love and goodness that God is always with you and has chosen you to be the mother of his only Son. If you accept God’s wish, you will give birth to a baby who will be God’s child and you are to name him, Jesus. He is to be the Saviour of God’s people and God will give him the kingdom of his ancestor, David." David was the very much loved, but deeply flawed King who had reigned a thousand years before this time, first over Judea in the south of the country, and then, over all Israel.

Mary’s initial response to the angel was, “How can this come about as I am not yet married?” The angel explained it to her in this way. "It will be by the power of God’s spirit that this will be brought about, Mary, and your child will be known as the Son of God. Six months ago, your cousin, Elizabeth, also found herself expecting a baby, even though she had been unable to have a child and was well past the age of childbearing, showing that nothing is impossible to God."

This last news brought joy and delight to Mary’s heart because, although she was much younger than her cousin, they had always been very close. When Elizabeth married Zechariah, they had moved away from the area but the families had always stayed in touch, visiting perhaps two or three times a year. Mary knew that it had been a source of deep sorrow for them both that they had never had a child. After many years of waiting and praying, they had given up all hope or expectation that they ever would.

Mary then replied to Gabriel, with absolute humility and trust. "I have always wanted to serve God, so let whatever is God's will be done." And it was! From that moment on, she felt herself to be enwrapped and enfolded within the love of God, cocooned in the knowledge that she was carrying God's child within her and would cherish him always. No matter what might befall her, no matter how she would be viewed in the eyes of the world, nothing could take away the inner joy that she would know forever.

Slowly, the Angelic presence of Gabriel, with all the stillness and beauty of the vision, began to ebb away. As Mary was pondering over all that had happened and been said, she heard her mother's voice calling her on her return from the market. She called out to her mother and Anne went to her room. They sat together, Mary recounting everything, and Anne, at first bemused, as she struggled to take in the reality of the situation, then full of wonder and awe at the news, overjoyed also to hear that Elizabeth and Zechariah were expecting a baby as well.

Gradually, being the wise and sensible woman she was, she began to reassure her daughter and to marvel at the miracle of the precious gift to their family. She would talk to Joachim, she said, and together, they would decide what to do next. Throughout the afternoon, her parents talked everything through. Over the evening meal, together with Mary, they quietly praised God and prayed for guidance. It was decided between them that Joachim would go to Joseph's house after the meal to tell him everything that had happened.

As Mary and her mother sat together, talking over the day's events and awaiting the return of Joachim, they, of course, felt deeply concerned for Joseph, wondering how he would feel and react to the news, but they were also full of gratitude for the goodness of God. Also, in her heart of hearts, Anne held another joy. Not only was her daughter going to have a baby, she herself was going to be a grandmother, to hold another baby in her arms, a baby who was God's Son, yes, the long-awaited Messiah, but also, her grandson. 

About Telling the Beads

At the beginning of Advent in the year 2019, I started to try to write a small book that I have had in my mind for many years. I had the title and the ideas and decided to do it as a series of posts.

However, I kept losing sections of texts so began to write it as a document in My Drive. By getting up early each morning and writing for 30 to 50 minutes until breakfast time, I have completed the first draft. 

Two friends have been helping me with the process of editing, an invaluable aid, and I have finally decided that the first episode is about as good as I think I can ever make it. Hence, I thought I would share it tonight, especially as it is the feast of the Annunciation today.

Where better than to share it but amongst my God posts as I like to think of them. Many thanks to anyone who has read or reads my bits and pieces.

About the unbroken thread of life

Unlike God, our lives are not infinite, because they have a beginning, 

but like God, they are eternal because they will have no end.

We live in a continuum of life, here on earth,

and in an unbroken thread, after death, 

in the next and everlasting life.