Miriam awoke before dawn as was her habit. She said her morning prayers while lying in bed. Her companions stirred about the time she completed her morning prayers.
After all of them went through their morning routine, and were clean and dressed, they stood before the image of her son and prayed for the salvation of the world, for those in authority, for the people they knew who were in need, and that they might properly receive the Body and Blood of their Lord to their soul’s health. Miriam removed four small pieces of the consecrated bread and poured a little of the consecrated wine from the cruet into a cup. They sang the communion hymn that Miriam liked so much, the one that urged their souls to be silent and to show Elohim the kind of respect the cherubim and seraphim do in calling out their praises of Elohim. Then they each received their daily communion.
Miriam lit a bit of charcoal and set a bit of small measure of incense to burn. “O my beloved Son, send Yochanan bar Zebedee to me today, from Ephesus. I would like to see him, and all of the Apostles, just once more before I sleep in death.”
Miriam heard her son’s voice say, “Amein.”
She turned to see Yochanan standing there. Happy tears filled her eyes.
“Emma,” he said, “am I dreaming?”
“If you are, my son, it is a dream we share,” she replied.
“A dream we all share,” Sepphora added.
“Come sit with me,” Miriam said. “I suspect the rest of the Twelve will be arriving soon.”
“Why, Emma, how?” Yochanan asked.
She told him of her angelic visitor and showed him the palm. “And I asked for you and the rest to be brought here so that I might see you one last time. As for the how, I don’t know. Do any of us know how the Elohim does anything?”
Yochanan chuckled. “You have a point there, Emma.”
There was a noise from the street. Miriam went to the door and found that there were many people gathered there, so many that the street was full as far as she could see.
“Emma,” one of the deaconesses of the ekklesia, a woman named Adara, stated, “we have heard that you dying.”
“That is what the angel Gavriel told me yesterday. Yochanan has been miraculously brought here to me from Ephesus.”
That news went through the crowd.
She motioned for all of them to sit. “Please sit.”
Miriam waited until the crowd sat down. She stepped out into the street. Yochanan followed her. “My children, do not be sad. I shall leave you today. The angel Gavriel told me my Son will come for me this very day. Rejoice with me. I have run my race. The reward of victory awaits me, just as it waits for all who faithfully live their lives in love and service of Elohim. Even my Son cried at the tomb of his friend Eleazaros, before He raised Eleazaros from the dead. Weeping when someone is gone from us is normal. Being sad at the loss of their company is normal. But remember, my Son taught that He is the Bread of Life, those who eat of Him will never die, but instead will live forever. We pass from corruption to incorruption, from life into life eternal. Whether we live or die, we are Yehoshua’s, united with and in Him. If we are united in Him, then we are united with one another. The repose of this frail body cannot break that bond of love. As I love you all now, I will continue to love you. As I pray for you now, I will continue to pray until the ages of ages. Be faithful. Continue in the Apostles’ teaching, in the fellowship of the ekklesia, in the breaking of bread, in our prayers, in love and service to Elohim and towards all men. I would leave you with my blessing.” She spoke the priestly blessing, “Yevarekheka Adonai veyishmerkha,” May the Lord bless you and keep you, “ya’eir Adonai panav eleykha vichunekha,” the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you, “yissa Adonai panav eleykha, v’yiseim lekha shalom”, turn His face to you and give peace to you. Then she felt compelled to add to that, “May the blessings of Elohim, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, be upon you and remain with you, forever.”
The people answered with an “Amein.” Then she stepped back into the house and closed the door.
When she turned around again, Yochanan and her three companions were not alone in the house. Most of the others of the Twelve were there, including Yaacov the Just, her dead stepson. But Teom was not among them.
“Yaacov!” Miriam said on the barest of whispers.
“Emma!” he replied in joy as he came towards her.
Miriam’s eyes filled with tears of joy and she was overcome to the point that her legs gave out from under her. She would have fallen if Yochanan bar Zebedee had not been there to catch her. He swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed.
She lay there just looking at them all. There were no words for how happy she was.
She heard Yaacov, Zebedee’s son, ask Yochanan, his brother, “Why has Adonai brought us together here?”
“Emma… Gavriel came to her yesterday and told her she would pass from this world today,” Yochanan said, his voice breaking.
All of them came to her, assembling around the bed.
“Emma,” Yaacov bar Zebedee said. “We have been brought here from distant lands.”
“Some of you have been brought here from further away than that,” Miriam said, looking at her stepson Yaacov bar Yosef. “To Elohim be the glory and honor! He has heard my prayer and given me the desire of my heart, that I might see each of you again, to let you know how perfectly I love you, before my Son comes for my soul. I am the most blessed among women, that I should be cared for in this way. Rejoice, my sons! Praise with me Elohei Sara, Elohei Rivka, Elohei Leah ve Elohei Rakhel!” the God of Sarah, the God of Rebecca, the God of Leah, and the God of Rachael. “Praise Elohim, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!”
Just then, Saul, now Paul, of Tarsus appeared among them, along with Dionysius the Areopagite, Hierotheus the bishop of Athens, Timothy, and several other people, men and women, who had gone from Yerushalayim into foreign lands for the sake of preaching the good news of her Son.
Sepphora, Abigail, and Yael took it upon themselves to light candles and lamps.
Miriam called the people in the room to her one by one. She spoke to each of them, telling each how much she appreciated the work he or she had done, speaking to each of his or her faith and the hardships endured in being a missionary. She placed her hand on each of their heads and blessed them, wishing each one eternal happiness. When she had spoken with each person, she led them all in prayer for the peace and welfare of the world.
Then Miriam began to sing, “Halleyah! My soul, give praise to Adonai. I will praise Adonai all my days, I will make music to my to El Chaiyai,” the God of my life, “ while I live…”
The rest joined her in singing this psalm.
At the end of that song, and several other joyful psalms, Miriam prayed aloud, “Father, thank you for all the blessings you have showered on me. Continue to bless richly the people who love me. Let them rejoice in their memories of our times together. Now Father, I remember old Simeon and what he said when he saw Yehoshua at his pidyon ha-ben. He prayed, ‘Now, let your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared for all people, a light to enlighten ha Goyim and the glory of your people Yisra’el.’ Father, I have seen the salvation of the world in the life, death, and resurrection of my Son. I have seen ha Goyim being brought into relationship with you. If it is your will to call me home, Father, then I am ready to come to You. But, as always, I am Your handmaiden. And I seek only to serve You.”
Suddenly, the room was filled with light, bright white light. Miriam looked at the people in the room and saw fear in their eyes. She wasn’t afraid. Her son was coming for her.
And there He was. He stood just in front of the image Lucas had painted of him. The great servants of God, the Prophets and Patriarchs, stood beside him. In the brightness of the light, she could see the faces of Gavriel, and many others, smiling at her.
“My Lord and my God!” Yochanan bar Zebedee proclaimed on little more than a whisper as he turned to see what, in this case who, Miriam had been looking at.
All who had been standing around her bed, turned towards her son, dropped to their knees, then placed their foreheads on the floor in reverence for God the Son, their Master Yehoshua.
Miriam cried out, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in Elohim, my savior, for He has regarded the lowliness of his handmaiden!”
She rose from her bed and made her way through the group of kneeling people. She knelt before Him. “My Son! My Savior!”
“Emma!” He said, extending his hand to her. “Come, enter Life Eternal.”
Joy filled her soul. “Into your hands I commit my spirit,” she answered Him. Miriam felt herself slide off into sleep. And then those around her saw her crumple to the floor as though she had merely fallen asleep.
Beautiful music came, from a chorus of angels. The joyous song began, “Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women! For behold, the Queen, God’s Maiden, comes. Lift up the gates and with the Ever-Existing One, take up the Mother of Light; for through Her salvation has come to the human race. It is impossible to gaze upon her, and it is impossible to render her due honor.”
Miriam heard their song, as did all in the house, and those who remained in the street.
The bright light was gone from the room as suddenly as it had come. And yet, the music of the angels remained.
Miriam was aware of the people in the room going to her now empty body, picking up the fragile shell that had once held her spirit, and placing that now vacant Temple of the Holy Spirit upon the bed.
“She wears such a joyous expression,” Yochanan bar Zebedee remarked.
“She smells so sweet, as though she had already been anointed with spices,” Matthias observed.
“She is dead?” Sepphora asked.
Lucas, the physician, felt for breath and pulse, finding neither, he replied, “Yes, she’s gone.”
Yael said, through tears, “Then you had better step away and let us wash and shroud her body for burial. She didn’t say anything to us, but I know she was worried about not having the money for spices for her burial. But it seems as her Son took care of that for her. She needs no spices from us. She is to be laid in the tomb of her parents in Gethsemane.”
The men stepped out, leaving Sepphora, Abigail, and Yael to prepare the body for burial.
Miriam saw the men telling the still assembled crowd in the street outside the house that Yehoshua had come for her. And she saw the tears fall from so many eyes.
“They shouldn’t weep for me,” she told her Son.
“They are weeping for themselves because they will miss you,” Yehoshua said to her.
She nodded. The angelic music continued, the angels singing songs of praise to God. Miriam joined their song.
“Come, see how much they love you,” her Son told her a little while later. “This is your funeral procession.”
Miriam watched the large crowd, thousands of people, virtually every Christian in the area of Yerushalayim, follow the bier which was carried on the shoulders of Simon Cephas, Yaacov bar Zebedee, Matthias, Bartholomew, Andreas, and Yaacov bar Halphai. Yochanan bar Zebedee led the procession, carrying that palm Gavriel had given to her when he’d came to her with the news of her impending repose.
The crowd carried unlit candles and smoking censers, sending up great amounts of sweet smelling incense. A great resplendent cloud circled over them as they walked. And the angels sang songs of praise for Miriam. Those songs were picked up by the crowd.
The procession drew much attention from those who weren’t part of it. The sound of the singing and scent of the incense filled the air, warning people for some distance that this great event was happening.
By the time they passed the Temple, the High Priest and many of his people were on the steps, looking to determine what this demonstration was. Miriam saw and heard the vexation of the unbelievers at the honor being heaped on her. She heard the envy and vengencefulness in their voices, all of the hatred they’d once shown to her Son, they now directed at her funeral procession.
An angry mob, both civilians and soldiers, was quickly organized for the purpose of disrupting the funeral procession and of setting Miriam’s body ablaze.
The great cloud which had hovered over the procession descended until it surrounded the mourners, forming a wall around them. The members of the mob could no longer see the funeral. They could hear the sound of all those people walking in procession. They could hear the singing of the angels and the people, although they didn’t want to admit they heard angels singing. Yet, they could not see anyone.
Athonios, one of the Temple priests, one of the parushim, had infiltrated the procession before the cloud came down. Miriam watched all of this. She could see the hatred in his eyes, hatred directed at her, but most of all directed at her Son.
“That man needs help,” Miriam said as Athonios waited until the men bearing the bier took a brief rest.
The crowd chanted the mizmor, the psalm, that had been chanted at Yosef’s burial, the same one that she, Yochanan, and the women had chanted as Yosef of Arimathea and Nicodemus and the servants had carried Yehoshua to the tomb, the same psalm that Yochanan and she had chanted after Stephanos has been stoned to death.
At the end of the psalm, the men started to pick back up the bier. Athonios rushed them and tried to topple her body onto the ground. Yet, as soon as he touched the bier, he lost all sensation in, and use of, his hands. It was as if he had no hands at all, for all the good those appendages did him.
Lucas the physician looked at Athonious. “The Angel of Adonai is a guard for those who fear Him. Angels defend all who love Him. Sometimes that defense is literal. Repent of your evil ways and be healed.”
“I do repent of this,” Athonios said, his voice very tight. “If Adonai would send his angels to protect even the dead body of the mother of Yehoshua of Natsarat, in how much more esteem must He hold Yehoshua?”
“Yehoshua is Adonai,” Lucas replied. “He took human form, born from Miriam of Natsarat, who remained a virgin. Naturally, He will protect His mother. One of the first things that Elohim wrote on the tablets at Sinai as to our duties to one another is to honor our father and mother.”
Athonios looked at the body on the bier. Tears welled up in his eyes. “I now believe Yehoshua is Adonai. I would stop anyone from hurting my mother, if I could.”
Then brother,” Lucas said, touching Athonios hands, “In the name of Elohim, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, receive the healing of your hands.”
Athonios flexed his hands.
“Come, brother, walk with us,” Lucas invited him.
Miriam smiled as all heaven rejoiced at the repentance and belief of this man.
When the procession reached the tomb of her parents in Gethesame, they put down the bier. One by one, two by two, people came to say goodbye, to touch her, to kiss her, to see her, one last time.
The candles that some people had carried came in handy as the crowd did not leave until nearly sunset. Candlelight allowed them to place her body safely in the tomb.
It took several of the men to roll the stone back over the mouth of the tomb.
Most of the crowd had gone, but those closest to Yehoshua, those who had been transported in, stayed behind in this garden to pray.
Yehoshua smiled at her. “Emma, I have a gift for you.”
“What more do I need than I have, my son?”
“You gave me a body. I will now return the gift. You will be the first of among those taken soul and body into my presence.”
“There have been two before me,” she answered. “Enoch and Eliyahu. Both were brought here body and soul, without ever seeing death.”
“I could have brought you here directly, as I brought them, but it was necessary for the people to know that you actually died.”
“I understand,” she said. “You need people to know that I was human, in order for them to believe you were human. A child takes his nature from his parents. In your case, that gave you two natures; human and divine.”
“Precisely. Come, Emma. I will take you to your body.”
They stood in the tomb in a pool of light. Miriam looked at her body, wrapped in the linen shroud she had woven.
“Emma, it is your time to rise from the dead, as all the Just will rise, with a glorified body, at the last day,” Yehoshua said.
“I am ready, my Son.”
And then, she found herself again back in a physical body, and standing beside him, looking down at the pile of burial clothes where her body had lain.
She looked at her son and smiled.
He took her by the hand and then they were back among the angels who were singing their praises, “Holy, holy, holy…”
Miriam watched as Teom arrived at her parents’ tomb on the evening of the third day following her death.
“Poor Teom,” she said, “it seems that he misses everything.”
“Always for a reason. Always to teach a bigger lesson.” Yehoshua replied. “We delayed bringing him here so that he could be the one to discover you have risen.”
She watched as Teom, heartbroken, lay face down, sobbing before the tomb of her parents. She watched as he begged the rest of them to let him see her, to say goodbye to her one last time. She watched as they rolled the stone away, lit candles and went inside.
And she watched as they, rejoicing at their discovery of her empty spot in the tomb, empty except for the burial shroud, as they knew this meant she had been resurrected.
As they rolled the stone back over the mouth of the tomb, Yochanan observed, “Elohim has given her things above nature. He preserved her virginity, even through childbirth. And now, He has preserved her body from decay. Remember the song the angels sang as she died, ‘For behold, the Queen, God’s Maiden, comes.’ She is now Queen of Heaven. She is daughter to the Father, unwedded bride to the Holy Spirit, and Mother to the Son. Halleuya!”
She watched as they returned to Yochanan’s house, to take food and rest.
“Go to them,” Yehoshua said.
Just as Yehoshua had appeared inside the locked doors of the upper room, Miriam appeared to those who had remained at the tomb and now were at Yochanan’s house, eating a simple meal.
They had been talking among themselves when she appeared there. But the conversation ceased as one by one the men, along with Sepphora, Abigail, and Yael, looked at her.
“Rejoice!” Miriam told them. “I am with you all the days of your lives.”
The End
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