Direct Quotes from the Mother of Jesus by Myra Kahn Adams for Town Hall
Welcome to the final study of Advent Season culminating in the “advent” (arrival) of Yeshua — a Jewish infant with the anglicized name of Jesus.
Our three-part series began with Vol. 90 — the conception and birth story of John the Baptist. Then, last week in Vol. 91, we studied Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, and learned that Joseph had no biblical quotes, and thus, “no voice.” And, that is why today we will examine all the Bible’s direct quotes attributed to Mary — the Jewish mother of Jesus.
But first, some direct quotes from my Jewish mother — Gloria Cohen Kahn — who died in 2016 at age 90. For over a year before her death, Gloria attended a weekly Bible study offered at her nursing home conducted by a Messianic Jewish pastor. But we were shocked when she accepted Yeshua and asked to be baptized.
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My older sister — a loyal, long-time member of the Unitarian church — falsely accused my husband and me of “brainwashing” Gloria. Later, proving my sister wrong, on Sundays at the nursing home, my mother chose to attend Mass over Bingo held at the same time — when previously she was a regular, enthusiastic participant.
In the months preceding my mother’s baptism, Gloria made some interesting statements and asked one jaw-dropping question. First, the statements:
While I was driving her somewhere, unprompted and totally out of the blue, Gloria said, “I have never read the Bible, but I enjoy learning about Yeshua.”
My mother’s first step in warming to Jesus was when she learned his Hebrew name was Yeshua. On another occasion, Gloria announced that she had been “praying to Yeshua” and then regularly started invoking His name and asking me questions about Him.
Then one day, Gloria asked a jaw-dropping question: “Why do Jews hate Jesus?” It was evident that my mother projected how she used to think before learning about Yeshua. For decades, my parents criticized my wearing a cross after converting to Christianity in 1975. Both were non-religious “cultural” Jews. They knew little about Christianity or Judaism and absolutely nothing about Jesus beyond “We are Jews and Jews don’t believe in Jesus.” Our home did not have an Old or New Testament.
