THE HOLY PARENTS OF MARY OF NAZARETH
(A biblical reflection on the Memoria of St. Joachim and St. Anna – Thursday, 26 July 2012)
First Reading: Sir 44:1,10-15
Psalms: Ps 132:11,13-14,17-18; Gospel Reading: Mt 13:16-17
The Scripture Text:
Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations.
But these were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten; their prosperity will remain with their descendants, and their inheritance to their children’s children. Their descendants stand by the covenants; their children also, for their sake. Their posterity will continue for ever, and their glory will not be blotted out. Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives to all generations. Peoples will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise. (Sir 44:1,10-15 RSV)
As a matter of course, Jesus of Nazareth had grandparents on His mother’s side. Yet nowhere in Scripture are their names mentioned. In the two genealogies provided in Matthew and Luke Gospels, only Joseph’s forebears are listed. Most of what we learn of Joachim and Anna comes from the Apocryphals “Gospel of the Birth of Mary” and “Protevangelium of James”. Although these books were not accepted into the canon of Scripture, they are of great antiquity and give us a glimpse of the saints’ lives. The very fact that our Lord had a grandmother and grandfather highlights the important historical aspect of our religion. Jesus is a person with an historical lineage.
The name, Anna, signifies “grace”, and the name of her husband, Joachim, means “preparation for the Savior”. The Protevangelium of James portrays Joachim and Anna as bound to each other by love. They were God-fearing and wealthy. For a long time they had no children (like the parents of Samuel and of John the Baptist). Their neighbors accordingly suspected that all was not right with their piety, since childlessness was considered to be a punishment for personal sins. Joachim and Anna were deeply saddened by all this.
Joachim did not show himself to his wife, but betook himself into the wilderness; there he pitched his tent and fasted forty days and forty nights; and he said to himself, “I shall not go down either for food or for drink until the Lord my God visits me; prayer shall be my food and drink” (1:4). On the other hand, Anna lamented her childlessness (as did Samuel’s mother) before YHWH: “I will bewail my widowhood, and bewail my childlessness” (2:1). Sitting beneath a laurel tree, Anna implored the Lord, saying: “O God of our fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, as Thou bless the womb of Sarah [our mother Sarah] and gavest her a son, Isaac” (2:4) She made lamentation within herself which was very moving (3:1-3).
By message from God, Joachim and Anna received the promise of offspring. An angel of the Lord came to her and said: “Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer. You shall conceive and bear, and your offspring shall be spoken of in the whole world.” And Anna said: “As the Lord my God lives, if I bear a child, whether male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it shall serve him all the days of its life” (4:1). Then came two messengers, who said to her: Behold, Joachim your husband is coming with his flocks; for an angel of the Lord came down to him and said to him, ‘Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down; behold, your wife Anna has conceived [shall conceive].’” (4:2).
Both were overjoyed and went forth to meet each other. The scene of the spouse’s reunion is described with feeling: “… Joachim came with his flocks, and Anna stood at the gate and saw Joachim coming and ran immediately and hung on his neck, saying: ‘Now I know that the Lord God has greatly blessed me; for behold the widow is no longer a widow, and I, who was childless, have conceived [shall conceive].” And Joachim rested the first day in his house(4:2).
The pregnancy began with the spouses’ coming together, and after nine months Mary was born. The major concern of the “legend” of Mary’s birth is clearly the statement that Mary was chosen by God in a special way, and has a particular role in the history of salvation.
Joachim and Anna are simply background figures. Yet the pair do not fade into the background. They are portrayed as holy people in the Old Testament sense. Joachim constantly brings double his portion of gifts to the Temple. Each dwells with YHWH as a matter of course. God is evidently pleased with their piety. And yet, He does test their faithfulness (as He also tested the piety of Job). The fate of childlessness – which they had to take as a sign of divine punishment – burdened them, but it did not shake their trust in God. They wrestled with God, just as the patient one in the Old Testament did. God finally gave them an answer, showing that He had heard their prayer.
Their faith in God is also manifest in that they gave their very young daughter over to the Temple – in fulfillment of the vow Anna had made before the birth – and allowed her to live in the Temple. They gave back generously to God what God had sent them as a gift, without wishing to cling to it for themselves.
Joachim and Anna: faithful to God even in trials of faith, they take their proper place in the history of salvation – namely, to be parents of Mary – and place themselves completely at God’s disposal through their child. They are a standard for all who bear their names.
Short Prayer: Heavenly Father, You bestowed on Saint Joachim and Saint Anne this singular grace that their daughter, Mary, should become the Mother of Your Son, Jesus Christ. By the power of the Holy Spirit, grant us, Christian parents, the necessary virtues to bring up our children in Your ways. Amen.