Parenting Jesus

My mind tends to travel in odd directions. I started off thinking about the ultra feminists who "insist God is a woman" and "refuse to worship a male deity". That made me think about how patriarchal the bible really is. That's when it occurred to me. Mary is the third most powerful person in the entire bible.

God is obviously #1
Jesus is #2
Mary is #3.

Why? Because she had to raise Jesus! God was his father, but Mary was his mother. God created Jesus to teach His lessons. But, Jesus did grow like a human. He had his own lessons to learn. His step father taught him how to be a carpenter. But, his mother taught him about life.

He probably was born with patience and compassion. With a desire to help those in need. He was probably given the gift of teaching those full of hate and selfishness about love and caring. But, who helped him heal when he got hurt? His mother. Who fed him? His mother. Who answered his questions about life? His mother. Who comforted him when his message wasn't being heard? His mother.

Did he have questions about life? He wasn't a typical kid. When God is your father there are some things you are born knowing about and able to do. Things the human kids can't do and don't know.

What was Jesus like as a kid? Was he a kid who brought home a lot of non-pet like animals as pets? Was he always bringing home someone in need asking his Mom how they can help that person? What was he like as a student?

Could he create miracles as a kid? If not, when did they start? What must it have been like for Mary after Jesus created his first miracle? Was he surprised he could do it? If so, how did Mary explain it to him? At what point did she tell him who his real father was? How exactly do you have that conversation anyway?

Parenting him may have been more exhausting then parenting a human kid. Developmentally, he was probably in a very different place then his peers. His understanding of life and others was probably a lot deeper. Did that make it hard to make friends? "Followers" and "friends" are two very different things.

He would listen as others shared their sins and worries. But, who did he talk to about his worries? Probably his mother. They probably prayed together. But, in the end, the human mother was better at giving advice on how to behave around other humans.

Was giving birth to him different then childbirth is for the rest of us? I'm not talking about location. I'm talking labor itself. What was his first word? Mary was there for the normal milestones. She probably taught him how to walk on land. Was she afraid watching him walk on water?

The disciples can't compare to Mary. She was the most important and influential human in Jesus' life. God chose her for a reason. Imagine carrying the weight of being the mother to God's child for the rest of your life.