Raising Messiah

Excerpts for LifeRich Excerpt from Chapter 1 Deep grumbling grabbed little Mary’s attention from the two kittens at her feet. A chilly gust blew chips of stone as two massive blocks careened toward her from the top of the narrow alley, slamming from side to side. She looked for an open door. Nothing. At the bottom of the hill, her mother scrambled up the street, hands flailing, and her mouth opened in a garbled wail. Mary turned back. One basalt block hurtled straight at her and she froze. “Help!” Someone gripped her arm. As he whisked her up and away, she glimpsed people below scattering like leaves blasted by wind. She found herself inside a barren room. There was not a table, bench or cabinet. “I will let you down now,” whispered the man who had lifted her through his window. Excerpt from Chapter 6 She should have asked her mother if she and Salome could sleep on the roof. The summer heat had made the sleeping loft stifling, and singing about deer seeking water made her thirsty, so she crept down the ladder. When she poured a drink, a rustling sound alerted her. Mice in the rafters again? As she looked around, a golden glow formed at the front door. She trembled. “Papa!” she attempted, but her fright choked the word. Her father’s snores continued behind their curtain. A muscular being taller than the doorway stood before her. His glaring white tunic was belted with a golden sash. Dazzling rays spread over his shoulders like wings. His eyes were bright green gems. Is that what emeralds look like? Her stomach flipped and churned. Unable to scream for help, she perspired and shivered at the same time. Suddenly, the angel smiled and boomed, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you.” The radiance on the creature’s face grew, and Mary was breathing erratically. The angel continued, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’” Mary struggled to make sense of his words while the angel, as calm as if he were visiting with her father and mother over wine, continued to share the royal future of a child she would be raising. Two questions burned inside her. Dare she ask? Two weeks ago she’d heard that Zechariah, the husband of her mother’s cousin Elizabeth, was struck mute for questioning an angel who had appeared to him. Mary began to speak, halted, and then plunged forward. “If it isn’t too disrespectful, will you tell me how this can happen? I have never been with a man before.” The angel’s smile widened until the room was diffused with gold. How could this brilliant glow and their conversation not wake her parents? “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Also, the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. You seem to be aware how that happens,” he said. Mary held her breath. The angel flicked his hand toward the south. “Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” With a jolt in her soul, Mary opened her mind to this strange idea. Her body felt weightless. She couldn’t tell if she was laughing or crying. “Yes, yes!” Her heart felt as if it were bursting. “I want to be the Lord’s servant. Let it be done to me according to your word.” She closed her eyes for a silent prayer, and when she opened them, her ethereal visitor had disappeared. Light from his appearance slowly faded, while her own spirit filled with a light of its own. The beautiful song that welled within her made her feel like a dove’s feather floating in the breeze. Yearning to dance with joy, she slipped out to the courtyard. The astounding notion of the Lord selecting someone so insignificant overwhelmed her. A fountain of warmth made her heart pound, and she felt lifted off her feet. She twirled across the courtyard. Oh, it truly seemed a great and magnificent thing the Mighty One had done in choosing her to bear that child! She puzzled over how God’s Spirit could make it happen, but the thrill in her soul assured her that it would. This night of the angelic visit, both amazing and humbling, a night of glory and promise and hope, this night, Mary imagined, would make everything wonderful and good.