Today’s Readings: Genesis 33-36; Mark 6:1-13
There are few things in the Catholic faith that confuse me more than the idea of Mary, the Virgin Mother. The fact that she was a holy woman, there’s no doubting that. You don’t get to be the Mother of God without being a worthy person. A good person: obviously. A good mother: most likely. A good wife: only if she didn’t remain a virgin for the remainder of her marriage.
Joseph would have to have been a great man for Mary and Joseph never to have had sex after Mary had a baby with God. I’m not saying the virgin birth didn’t happen. I’m just saying that I don’t think Jesus didn’t have any brothers or sisters afterwards. And to be honest, I don’t think the Gospels disagree:
[2] And on the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to him? What mighty works are wrought by his hands!
[3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
How does that become any more clear? I believe there are other references to this in the other Gospels, though I can’t swear to it just yet. Everything culturally also points to Mary and Joseph having other children. Wouldn’t it be difficult to be accepted in their time and setting without other children?
I also know that I’m not the only one confused by this issue. In two books I read in the last couple years, this was a main theme, among others, about the life of Jesus as a more human than divine being. The first is The Gospel According to Jesus Christ by José Saramago, which is an absolutely amazing read. The other is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore, which is along the same lines, but instead of reflective and meditative is absolutely hysterical.
I actually tried to read some evidence (albeit online) for both sides of this issue. Let me tell you, that only makes it more confusing. There isn’t a whole lot of logic in biblical scholarship. It’s so much interpretation, which is often how we end up in the debacles.
