Mary’s Treasures and the Memorial We Share
Mary could not scrapbook milestones or save photos, but she carried the life of Jesus in her memory and faith. Luke describes her as treasuring and pondering what she witnessed. The same Jesus left a lasting memorial for his people in Communion.
- Mary “treasured up all these things” and revisited them in her heart.
- Her memory-keeping was faith-shaped, not written or photographed.
- Communion is the memorial Jesus left for believers to remember him.
A MOTHER’S TREASURES
By Doug Redford
Mothers today have all kinds of resources available for keeping track of special memories involving their children. Technological advances have replaced many of the written records that mothers once carefully kept to mark significant moments in a child’s growth and development.
A mother in Bible times, like Mary the mother of Jesus, had nothing even remotely like this to monitor the milestones in her little boy’s life. Record keeping of such events was simply not what people did back then; mothers didn’t think in terms of marking the dates of first steps or first teeth. Many people in Jesus’ time could not read or write (girls did not have the educational opportunities that were afforded boys). Printing was many, many years yet to come as was any idea of taking pictures of people.
Mary’s Secret Treasure
So what did a mother like Mary do, given how special the boy was whom she brought into the world? There was so much that Mary experienced, beginning with the visit from the angel Gabriel who described the one-of-a-kind son to whom she would give birth (Luke 1:32, 33). Then there was the arduous journey to Bethlehem where the birth of her son took place in far from ideal conditions. And then came the unforgettable guests (shepherds!) who visited that humble birthing site.
Luke 2:19 offers this insight into Mary’s memory-keeping method: “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” The New International Reader’s Version renders the verse as follows: “But Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart. She thought about them over and over.” That’s the record-keeping that Mary did, since she could not keep a written record or take any pictures or put anything on Facebook. Her heart, her memories were her Faith-book, and there she kept a record of all the special words and events concerning her special son, including the agony of watching him suffer the pain and public embarrassment of crucifixion.
Our Memorial in Communion
We also do not have any pictures or other items from Jesus’ life and ministry by which to remember him. We do, however, have the memorial he left for us: Communion. We can assume that Mary, mentioned by name in Acts 1:14 among those who gathered for prayer in Jerusalem, later observed Communion along with the first Christians. Whenever she did so, she still had many “treasures” to ponder in her heart. So do we.
Author: Doug Redford
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
