In Western Christianity, this day (July 26th) is celebrated as the “feast of grandparents.” This feast began with the earliest church traditions, which marked the maternal grandparents of Jesus, Joachim, and Anne.
A little bit later, in about the third and fourth centuries, the universal church formalised the practice of observing this feast day across the church. The Eastern Church observes the feast on the 25th of July, and the Western Church on the 26th of July—that’s today!
Although the grandparents of Jesus or their names are not mentioned in the New Testament, there is a beautiful account of them in the gospel called the proto-gospel of James. In this gospel, they are named Joachim and Anne.
Before I share their story with you and say why we celebrate Joachim and Anne and all grandparents today, I want to share a small story that describes the depth of my love for my maternal grandmother. Her name was Gertrude. She played a huge role in bringing me up and instilling faith in me with a love for the Lord.
As with all the first grandchildren, I was the first grandchild born to the family, and I received a lot of attention from the day I was born. My grandmother took the leading role in caring for me; over the years, I deeply bonded with her.
One beautiful morning, she was walking me to the school down a beautiful lane across a garden adorned with many coloured roses and orchids. The dew that had fallen that morning was still fresh. My Grandma held me close to her to stop me from kicking on the grass that would have wet my socks with the dew. The birds were singing, the freshly blossomed roses were emitting their scent, the air was fresh, and the gentle morning sun was warming our faces. This beautiful atmosphere had magic enchanting my heart even though I was only five years old.
Some other-worldly sentimentality arrested my soul, and I made a very bold statement to my Grandma. I kissed my Grandma’s hand that was holding me and said to her, " Grandma, you know I love you so much; when I grow up to be a big man, I want to marry you!” She laughed, lifted me up, kissed me on my cheeks, and put me down. That day, I still remember spending school hours thinking of Grandma.
That beautiful childhood experience still wells up in me, and my eyes are wet when I think of Grandma. As I was growing up in the pursuing years, I relived that moment, recalling my words again and again. I thought they were the best words I could have said to her to express my great devotion and love for her. In my childhood, I wanted to be bonded to her and receive that love and nurturing for my spiritual, emotional and physical development. Below is a pic of me and my Grandma after my ordination as a Deacon in 1992 at St Paul’s Cathedral in Wellington, NZ. God called her Home in 2002.
I wanted to share this story with you because today is the feast day of Jesus' grandparents and the feast of our grandparents, and ours if we are grandparents. I think the feast day could be extended to all of us who also have the prefix “grand” describing our family relationships. I am a grandfather to my niece’s two children.
Now, to the story of Jesus’ grandparents, Joachim and Anne, and the message we have from God in celebrating their feast today.
The way I understand it, we miss knowing Joachim and Anne because there is a sad aspect to the two family tree records we have for Jesus in the Bible. These two family tree records are found in Matthew (1:1–17) and Luke (3:23–38). The sad aspect of these two records is that the family line on Jesus’ mother’s side is entirely left out.
This seems to be the result of Matthew wanting to highlight Jesus’ lineage from King David and his forefather Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. On Luke’s part, the negligence seems to result from him wanting to trace Jesus’ lineage back to Adam, whom he states was the son of God.
Matthew, who wrote the gospel to the Jews, had wanted to present Jesus as the long-expected Messiah from the line of David. Luke, who wrote the gospel to the Gentiles, had wanted to cast Jesus’ mission to the whole world, which had originated from God, who had created humankind.
However, there was no good reason to leave the mother’s side of the family out.
For the second and third-generation Christians who had not met the Lord and his mother, the lack of any record of the mother’s family line may have been an anathema. I know how hurtful it would be for us to have an ancestry record that does not record our mother’s side of the family tree. My guess that this gave birth to the legend of Joachim and Anne. This legend was compiled more than a century after Jesus ascension into Heaven.
Long before I knew anything about this mishap in Jesus’ family tree, I vividly asked my Grandma whether Jesus’ Grandma was like her. I remember her not telling me anything at all about Jesus’ Grandma. As a child, I was disappointed not to know anything about Jesus’ Grandma and just assumed she, too, would have been like my Grandma.
Many years after that childhood disappointment and several years after being a theological student, I was delighted to learn that the story of Jesus’ maternal grandparents is available in the narrative of the Gospel of James. Although this gospel was not readily available in the late -1980s, I paid US$ 53 to a library in the USA to make a copy for me and sent it to Sri Lanka. That $53 was four months of my pocket money allowance (Today, you can access the Gospel of James freely on the internet: http://www.asu.edu/courses/rel376/total-readings/james.pdf
When the book arrived one beautiful day in November 1987, I called in sick for two-afternoon lectures and read the gospel in one sitting. I hope you would like to know a little bit about the gospel of James.
Although we do not know who wrote this gospel, it is attributed to a certain James. This gospel account, written around 145 AD, became particularly popular in Eastern Christianity (the Christian traditions that sprang in the Middle East and are known today as the Orthodox Church). Mainly based on episodes found in this gospel, the eastern church instituted feast days to honour the Virgin Mary throughout the year. This gospel now survives in some 150 Greek manuscripts and a range of Eastern versions: Coptic, Syriac, Ethiopic, Armenian, Georgian, and Slavonic.
This is not to say that the gospel was completely unknown in Western Christianity (the Christian traditions that sprang from Rome and spread across the European continent). But for the most part, the Gospel of James was not transmitted in the West because its portrayal of Jesus’ “brothers” as sons of Joseph from a previous marriage was roundly condemned. The main idea that was promoted in the West was that Jesus’ alleged brothers were, in fact, his cousins (St. Jerome, the 4th-century theologian, was the proponent of this view).
The popularity of this book in the Christian world can be attested because we find references to it in the writings of the Church Father Origen (died 254 AD). Prominent Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria (died 215 AD) and Justin Martyr (died 165 AD) also seem to have known some of the stories of Mary and Jesus’ birth that are in this Gospel of James.
Let me share with you the first short five chapters of the Gospel of James as written (altogether, there are 25 chapters)
The Rich Joachim and His Self-Exile (ch.1)
(1) In the “Histories of the Twelve Tribes of Israel” there was a very wealthy man Joachim, who used to offer a double portion of his gifts to the Lord, saying to himself, “The portion that is my surplus will be for all the people, and the portion that is for forgiveness will be for the Lord God as my atonement.”
(2) Now the great day of the Lord drew near, and the sons of Israel were offering their gifts. Reuben stood before him and said, “You are not allowed to offer your gifts first, since you have not produced any offspring in Israel.”
(3) Joachim was very upset and went away to consult the book of the twelve tribes of the people, saying to himself, “I will examine the Book of the Twelve Tribes of Israel to see if I am the only one not to produce offspring in Israel.” And he searched and found that everyone who was righteous had raised up offspring in Israel. Then he remembered the patriarch Abraham, that at the end of his life the Lord God had given him a son, Isaac.
(4) Joachim was very upset and did not appear to his wife, but went out to the wilderness and pitched his tent there. Joachim fasted for forty days and nights, saying to himself, “I will not come down for either food or drink until the Lord my God visits me. My prayer will be my food and drink.”
The Lamentation of Anne (ch.2)
(1) Now his wife Anne wailed and mourned twice over, saying “I mourn for being a widow, I mourn for being childless.”
(2) The great day of the Lord drew near, and her servant Judith said to her, “How long will you humble your soul? See, the great day of the Lord is drawing near, and you are not allowed to lament. But take this headband that my supervisor gave me; I am not allowed to wear it, since I am your servant and it is of royal quality.”
(3) Anne replied, “Go away from me. I did none of these things and yet the Lord God has severely humbled me. For all I know, some scoundrel has given this to you, and you have come to implicate me in your sin.” Judith, her servant, said, “Why would I curse you, just because you have not listened to me? The Lord God has closed your womb to keep you from bearing fruit in Israel.”
(4) Anne was very upset, and took off her clothes of mourning; she then washed her face and put on her bridal clothes, and in mid-afternoon went down to walk in her garden. She saw a laurel tree and sat beneath it, and after resting a bit she prayed to the Master, saying, “O God of my fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, just as you blessed the womb of Sarah and gave her a son, Isaac.”
Ch 3. (1) While Anne was gazing at the sky she saw a nest of sparrows in the laurel tree, and she mourned to herself, “Woe is me. Who gave me birth? What kind of womb bore me? I have been born as a curse before the sons of Israel and have been despised; they have mocked me and banished me from the temple of the Lord my God.
(2) Woe is me, what am I like? I am not like the birds of the sky, for even the birds of the sky are productive before you, O Lord. Woe is me, what am I like? I am not like the senseless living creatures, for even the senseless living creatures are productive before you, O Lord. Woe is me, what am I like? I am not like the wild beasts of the earth, for even the wild beasts of the earth are productive before you, O Lord.
(3) Woe is me, what am I like? I am not like these waters, for even these waters are tranquil yet prance about, and their fish bless you, O Lord. Woe is me. What am I like? I am not like this soil, for even this soil produces its fruit in its season and blesses you, O Lord.”
Some Angelic Visitations (ch.4)
(1) Then, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared and said to her, “Anne, Anne, the Lord has heard your prayer. You will conceive a child and give birth, and your offspring will be spoken of throughout the entire world.” Anne replied, “As the Lord God lives, whether my child is a boy or a girl, I will offer it as a gift to the Lord my God, and it will minister to him its entire life.”
(2) Behold, two angels came, saying to her, “See, your husband Joachim is coming with his flocks.” For an angel of the Lord had descended to Joachim and said, “Joachim, Joachim, the Lord God has heard your prayer. Go down from here; see, your wife Anne has conceived a child.”
(3) Joachim immediately went down and called his shepherds and said, “Bring me here ten lambs without spot or blemish, and the ten lambs will be for the Lord God; and bring me twelve young calves and the twelve calves will be for the priests and the council leaders, and bring a hundred male goats for all the people.”
(4) And behold, Joachim came with his flocks and Anne stood beside the gate and saw Joachim coming with his flocks; and running up to him she hung on his neck and said, “Now I know that the Lord God has blessed me abundantly. For see, the widow is no longer a widow and I who am childless have conceived a child.” Then Joachim rested the first day in his home.
The Birth of Mary (ch.5)
(1) On the next day he brought his gifts as an offering, saying to himself, “If the Lord is gracious to me, the leafed plate of the priest’s mitre6 will make it known to me.” And Joachim offered his gifts and looked closely at the priest’s leafed mitre as he went up to the altar of the Lord; and he saw no sin in himself. Joachim then said, “Now I know that the Lord God has been gracious to me and forgiven me all my sins.” He went down from the temple of the Lord justified and came to his house.
(2) Some six months came to completion for Anne; and in the seventh month she gave birth. She asked the midwife, “What is it?” The midwife replied, “A girl.” Anne said, “My soul is exalted today.” And she laid the child down. When the days came to completion, Anne washed off the blood of her impurity, gave her breast to the child, and named her Mary.
Even though the events described above are legendary, we cannot help but admire the heroism and holiness of Joachim and Anne. The character of these people we can infer from Jesus’ family atmosphere and the life of Mother Mary in the Scriptures. If we appreciate the beautiful lives of Mary and Jesus, the daughter and the grandson of Joachim and Anne, we surely can trace the virtues and the faith the grandparents had instilled in them.
Especially, when we think of Mary, we can recognise that the strong and courageous personality she had as a young woman couldn’t have just transpired in her without the influence of her parents on her growing up years. Think of Mary who took a courageous decision to bear a child while only being engaged to a man; her devotion to the laws of her faith; her steadiness, and perseverance at moments of crisis; her devotion and respect to her relatives and the fortitude and faith in God she exemplified when his son was crucified. All these indicate an upbringing by exceptional and godly parents.
I thought to myself that the early life of young Mary, explained in the gospel, too must be true. It is evident that the good and godly character told in the gospel (chapters 7 to 11) is what she lived out in her adult life. She exemplified a life that fulfilled many generations of prayerful persons, especially her parents.
Joachim and Anne represent the entire quiet and unacknowledged series of generations that faithfully perform their duties, practise their faith, and establish an atmosphere for Jesus to come to this world.
This is the feast of Joachim and Anne and of all grandparents. Let us thank God for our grandparents, living and departed, who instilled in us faith and great virtues. Let this feast day of Joachim and Anne remind grandparents of our responsibility to establish a tone for generations to come. We must make the traditions live and offer them as a promise to our little children.
The feast of Joachim and Anne has a message for us who are not yet grandparents or “grand” through family relationships. It reminds us that older people’s faith and love, greater perspective and advice on matters, depth of experience, and appreciation of life’s profound rhythms are all part of wisdom not to be taken lightly or ignored. For these reasons, Saints Joachim and Anne are the Patron Saints of Grandparents, and St. Anne is the patron Saint of mothers and women in labour who bring life to the world.
