Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Shoved to Them

Home
Catholic
The Perfectly Imperfect Mother of God

The Perfectly Imperfect Mother of God

Last updated on: December 18, 2014 at 9:24 pm by Rebecca Frech

The Perfectly Imperfect Mother of God 2014-12-18T21:24:09-05:00 Rebecca Frech

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Earlier today, I asked my children (ages 15, 13, 10, 7, and 5) what they thought Mary was really like. What follows is their conversation. My comments are in blue, the rest are them.

“So, what do you think she was really like? Not the statues, but the real person?”

“I think she was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet like the pictures.”

“What? No way. I think she had ugly feet like in the picture over the mantel.”

“It has ugly feet? Why would she have ugly feet?”

“Duh. Because people walked everywhere back then. In sandals. Sandals don’t protect your feet. Trust me. They were ugly.”

“She was beautiful! She had blue eyes and long yellow hair…”

“No she didn’t. She was Jew. Jews don’t look like that.”

“They don’t?”

“No. Don’t you remember the propaganda stuff from Germany? Brown hair, brown eyes, big noses… I’m sure they exaggerated the nose part.”

“Mom? Do Jews have big noses?”

“Some do. Some don’t. They’re like everyone else. There’s variety. Why don’t you Google ‘Middle Eastern Jews’?”

“…They’re brown-ish. With curly-ish hair.”

“Why do people paint her white if she was brown-ish with brown hair and eyes?”

“Wait? Does that mean that Jesus was brown-ish too?”

“Yeah. He got all of His human DNA from his mom. If she was brown-ish then so was He.”

(((Silence)))

“I like brown eyes. Especially the brown kind that gets crinkly at the sides when you smile. I’m pretty sure that Mary had the crinkle kind.”

“I think she had a good laugh. Not the mom kind of laugh, but the loud-ish and funny kind that makes you laugh. The kind of laugh that’s funnier than the joke.”

“So you think she was funny?”

“Definitely funny.” There were unanimous head-nods at this.

“God likes joyful. He would never give his Son to someone who wasn’t funny.”

“Remember the way that Elizabeth ran out to meet her, all excited? You don’t run out the hug someone who’s not fun to be around. You watch them from the window and sigh.”

“I think her teeth were crooked, at least a gap or overlap. No braces mean wonky teeth.”

“So what if they were crooked? She still had a good smile!”

” <<<sigh>>> I’ll bet she has the good kind of mom smoosh that you can snuggle into.”

“No way. She was like 14. 14-year-olds don’t have mom-smoosh.”

“She was 14?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh. 14-year-old girls cry. Like..a lot.”

“Seriously? Jesus had a crying mom? That’s the worst kind of mom. No offense, Mom.”

“Thanks.”

“Ewww…they have zits too.”

“Mary had acne?”

“Hormones happen to everyone. Mother of God or not.”

“I don’t like this game. Ugly feet and acne are not a person you make statues of.”

“Sure they are. You just leave out the ugly parts. It’s like Photoshop or filters.”

“Other than acne and crooked teeth. What was she like?”

“Sassy.”

“Really?”

“This angel stands in front of her and says God sent him and she says ‘Why would God send you to me?’ She doesn’t even offer him water or a place to sit down. Hospitality was a big thing back then. She ignored all of that, and told him to explain himself. That’s sass.”

“And she bossed God around. He was her kid, but she knew he was God and she still had to tell him to clean his room and stuff. You can’t be totally meek and mild, and still be bossing Jesus to do his chores.”

“And she didn’t care what people thought. Not in that snap-your-fingers way, but in the I-Know-I’m-Right way.”

“She didn’t?”

“If she cared for what people thought, she’d have never agreed to be Jesus’s mom. They could have stoned her, but she didn’t even care. She just said yes.”

…

“So sum it up for me. Mary was..”

“Jewish. Brown.”

“Curly hair, but nice eyes.”

“She had a crinkly-eyed smile.”

“…and a good laugh.”

“Probably not what we would call pretty.”

“A crying teenage girl mess.”

“But not scared of anything, and kind of sassy…”

“Perfect?”

“Not perfect….just… right.”

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 16, 2014

The Story Behind the Name

Next Post

December 20, 2014 Gone Viral

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which chapter of Isaiah is sometimes called the "miniature Bible"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Isaiah 12 Isaiah 66 Isaiah 53 Isaiah 40