EDITORIAL: ‘I am the Lord’s …, ready to serve’

This Advent and Christmas season, I keep thinking about a person peeking between the pages of the Bible, an important fellow whose whose identity is ambiguous, at best. Wait a sec; let me check. … Nope. None of the gospel writers clearly identifies Mary’s dad, Jesus’ grandfather.

Many scholars think his name was Heli. They base their case upon the two genealogies of Jesus. Matthew 1:16 tells us Jacob was “the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” This family tree clearly follows Joseph’s lineage, so Jacob would have been Jesus’ step-grandfather. But Luke 3:23 indicates Joseph was the son of Heli. Since Luke’s generations don’t match Matthew’s, the Heli advocates claim Luke meant “father-in-law” and insists his lineup represents Mary’s family tree. Some Roman Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans cite tradition to claim Mary’s father was Joachim. But since he does not appear in either genealogy, it’s hard to imagine Jesus playing catch out in a Nazareth street with a guy named Joachim.

Consider this quasi-canonized character, whatever his name. Mary was just a teenager, so her father wouldn’t have been old himself. And since the Scriptures don’t mention Mary was an orphan or cite anything exceptional about her home life, he probably lived there in Nazareth, in that little peasant home, with Mary and her mother and maybe several other offspring.

As a daddy of daughters, I’ve wondered what Mary’s parents thought and felt that morning their sweet, lovely child sat down at the breakfast table, spread cream cheese on a bagel and said, “Mother and Father, I’ve got some really big news. …” Parental instincts tell me they yearned to protect their unwed, pregnant daughter. People talk as soon as girls begin to show. Everyone knew Mary was a good girl, and gossips just live to take down good people. Mary’s parents worried for their daughter—not only because she would be “with child” out of wedlock, but also because people would think she’d gone crazy as soon as she talked about how she got that way. “The Angel Gabriel came to visit me, and … the Holy Spirit came upon me, … and the Most High overshadowed me. Oh, yeah, and I’m still a virgin.”

One special detail—just as absent from Scripture as their names—says something wonderful and amazing about Mary’s parents. Look for a common denominator in Jesus’ birth narratives: Angels. Time after time, angels show up to help people believe the unbelievable. Old Zechariah and young Mary. Fiancé Joseph. Shepherds and wise men. Angels appeared to them because they needed angels, just to confirm the facts. But not Mary’s mom and dad. No angels necessary. They raised a good and faithful daughter. Her word was enough.

Of course, this is “reading into” the Scripture, but sometimes messages of silence communicate volumes. So it is with the non-stories of angels in those months leading up to Jesus’ birth. I’d like to believe—and for want of scriptural evidence I’m so inclined—that angels did not appear to Mary’s mom and dad simply because an angel’s recitation of the divine conception would have been redundant. Their angel already told them, and they believed her, preposterous or not.

Although they didn’t set out to raise the most important woman of all time, they trained up a little girl in the ways of the Lord. And God Almighty found her faithful. How could they not believe a girl whose faith was so strong that, after hearing the most unbelievable proposal ever, she replied: “I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say”?

Christmas is a time for angels, fantastic stories and the birth of our Savior. May it also remind us raising children is kingdom work. Let us train up generations who will proclaim to God: “I am the Lord’s, ready to serve. Let it be with me as you say.”

—Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard. Visit his FaithWorks Blog.