October 12–Mary’s House

It’s the weekend! 

Another thing we saw just outside of Ephesus was a house that was perhaps the last place Mary lived. There are no references in the Bible outside of Jesus telling John to take care of His mother. John later lived in Ephesus and possibly wrote the book of John from there. The Catholic Church tradition places the tiny stone house as the place that the Apostle John brought her to live out her life. 


The little house has a steady stream of visitors and the fence covering the rock wall is covered with ribbon, handkerchiefs, notes and prayers. The stones of the house do date back to the apostolic age, and the house itself is likely around the first century AD. 


I think this site was a little hard for me because so much emphasis was placed on the worship of Mary and her power to help. As much as she was a wonderful, devout woman, she was a woman who was not, and is not, God. 


But...this place, as with other shrines, does rally Christians to think about the characters of scripture, and not only what they MAY have done, but also what we know they DID. It tends to focus us back to God’s word, to the things we are told and the the things we only know in part. 


“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:12-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬


There are lots of things we don’t understand, things we know a little about, and things we know quite a bit about, but in truth, we don’t know much—its a reflection in a bad mirror...foggy. But, we are promised one day, we will understand it all. But until then, we fully have faith, hope and love. And the one we have been given to use the most is our greatest gift...love. Love for our Savior, love for one another and love for this lost and dying world all around us. 


Did Mary live in that little rock house? I don’t know but we do know Jesus loved her. We know as well that John loved Jesus and Jesus asked him to take care of and to love her. That’s the lesson here: to love and care for each other. Whether he took her to Ephesus or not, I think we can be sure that John loved and cared for Mary until she passed. 


Lord of Heaven, thank you for showing us how to truly love. We know you loved deeply and greatly when you walked here and that today, you love us with a ridiculous love—one we can’t fathom. Teach us to love wholeheartedly and without expecting anything is return. We know if we can fully open up and pour out on others, we are the most blessed and happy of people. Help us to embrace our faith and our hope, and to dive deeply in our love. We praise you today and we worship you not only for all the mighty things you have done, but simply for who you are. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear friend,

Pam


Pictures of Mary’s House are on Facebook 

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