The Awful Truth About What Mary Knew

    If you have known me for any length of time you probably know that I have a particular distaste / hatred / loathing for that awful song “Mary Did You know?”   Some would say I have an unnatural obsession and personal vendetta, but I prefer to see it as righteous anger.  The song is more dangerous than a heavy metal recording with overtly Satanic lyrics because its lyrics are heresy (lies and deceptions) presented as a Christmas song – and therefore implicitly Christian.  It is not.   As way of a quick review here is a list of some who knew that Jesus was the Son of God / Messiah (with links):  Joseph, Simeon, Elizabeth and her unborn son John the Baptist, Herod, the wise men, and quite obviously Mary.  I’m only listing those who knew about His Divinity when He was a child since that seems to be the focal point of the song.  I’m sure there are many more who knew of His Divine nature, but I’m just listing those that are the most obvious… like Mary.

    So why am I bringing up my obsession now three months after anyone has heard that awful song?  Because Mary likely ALSO knew what was going to happen to her son during His passion and death.  It's probable that she knew from the day of His birth that He was destined to be the Redeemer, the savior, the sacrificial offering to wipe clean the punishment due to mankind for its sin.  One can only assume that Joseph knew this as well.  Mary was the perfect wife to Joseph – loving and submissive in ways almost beyond our comprehension.  If she knew of her son’s bloody end, it seems reasonable to assume that she would have shared that information with her most chaste and loyal spouse Joseph.  The fact that Joseph was spared being an eyewitness to the torture and execution of Jesus was probably a grace handed down to him by God.  As a father I can’t even fathom what Joseph would have seen and felt on such a day as Good Friday.  As a parent I can’t even fathom what Mary did see and feel.

    If we ponder Christ’s Passion (or just watch Mel Gibson’s 2004 film) we can sometimes allow ourselves to think about how horrific it was for Mary to witness her son’s brutal and gruesome death, or how awful it was for Jesus to know fully what awaited Him at the pillar and on Golgotha.  But rarely do we think about the prior three decades of Mary’s life where she likely knew the predestined fate of her only son, and in the years following the death of Joseph knowing that she would have to face it without her beloved spouse.

    Fortunately for Mary, she did not face it alone since John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, and her sister Mary of Cleophas accompanied her during her son’s torture and death.  I am always fascinated how Mary of Cleophas is clearly listed in the bible as being present at the foot of the cross, but is almost universally ignored in art and film (see the aforementioned “Passion of the Christ” where she is very obviously not present).  There are some theories that she may have actually been the Virgin Mary’s sister-in-law, but whoever she was she’s an unsung and underrepresented hero.  I’m always fascinated by the thought of three women, all named Mary, bravely accompanying our Lord in his last moments on the cross while the vast majority of Christ’s friends and apostles had run off (notable exception being John, of course).

    Moments before his death on the cross Jesus handed his mother off to his friend and apostle John who immediately understood his new role as Mary’s protector and surrogate son.   But Mary also became a surrogate mother to all of the apostles on that day, and indeed to all of us throughout time.  So on days like Good Friday and Easter it is appropriate for us to mediate not only on the mind-boggling sacrifice that Jesus made for us 2,000 years ago, but also the pain, agony, and sacrifice that his blessed mother endured also. 

    To the best of my knowledge, it is not expressly stated in the gospels that Mary knew in advance of the crucifixion, but it seems reasonable to me to assume that God had provided her with that knowledge, or at the very least she was able to piece it all together based on her knowledge of her son’s Divinity and his place in history as the Messiah.  So, I can’t claim that it’s clearly evident that she knew the awful and painful way her son would end his earthly mission.   But as I referenced at the beginning of this blog post, Simeon made it crystal clear that she was in for a painful life after he recognized her as the mother of the Messiah.  No matter how you wish to interpret “thy own soul a sword shall pierce,” even the most belligerent and stubborn anti-Marian scholar would have to agree that Simeon rightly prophesized that it was not going to end well for Jesus and Mary.  Seemingly not end well.   Because we know that three days after His execution on a common criminal's cross the story was changed, and the narrative was flipped on its head when Mary’s son cast off His burial linens and walked out of His tomb.

    Christian tradition holds that Mary was the only one of the followers of Jesus who was not mired in despair on Holy Saturday.  Not the “disciple he loved” John.  Not Peter, the clearly appointed leader of the apostles (aka the first pope).  Not even Mary Magdalene.  But His mother, the one who should have been drowning in the absolute pits of despair, apparently was not.   Presumably because she knew she would see Him again resurrected on the following day.  Jesus had prepared her for this moment when He had disappeared two decades prior, only to be found three days later in the temple in Jerusalem.  Clearly, He was preparing her for His even more dramatic disappearing act on Good Friday.

    Jesus quite obviously knew that He would be crucified and rise again three days later.  He said as much to His disciples and His persecutors.  Did He ever tell Mary – His closest family member?  Safe to assume so, in my opinion.

    So, you are in no way obliged to believe, as I do, that Mary knew the exact details of her son’s impending arrest, imprisonment, torture, and death.  But it is obvious that she knew of His Divinity, and it is obvious that He knew His bloody and painful fate – a fate that He fully accepted as His father’s will.  So, when that horrible song, with all of its lies and insults, makes its annual appearance later this year, allow your righteous anger to bubble up.   Point out its heresies to anyone who will listen, as well as to those who stubbornly choose to ignore obvious biblical facts.   And most of all think about what Mary went through on that first Good Friday, and the possibility that she knew all along exactly what was coming from the beginning of her blessed motherhood.