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reminder to the Jews that God had once slain the Egyptians and taken their firstborn sons but had spared the firstborn of the Hebrews. Now in order that the child might go back home with his parents and not to have to remain in the temple for the service of the Lord, the parents had to pay a certain sum in silver — about five dollars in our money — as ransom money. This was the law for 11 of the 12 tribes of Israel. The sons of the tribe of Aaron, however, were destined to the priesthood. No money had to be paid for them. So Jesus’ little cousin John, belonging to the tribe of Aaron, did not fall under that law. Jesus, belonging to the tribe of Judah, did.
    One of the great beauties of reading through the Gospels like this is that after doing it a while, it will very often happen that the passage you are reading will bring to mind another one. Young minds are especially keen at finding such apropos comparisons. Therefore, having worked on “the days of her purification,” one of the family might muse, “But Mary had been greeted by the angel, ‘Hail, O favored one.’ Didn’t she know that the birth of this child couldn’t possibly make her liturgically unclean? And then — the same angel has said to her, ‘He …will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David …and of his kingdom there will be no end’ (Luke 1:28–33). Didn’t she feel within herself that this Son would not have to be bought with ransom money?”
    And the family circle decides that she must have known. But in her actions she now accepted what her Son would later express in words to His cousin the Baptist when he didn’t want to baptize Him, but would rather have been baptized by Him: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15).
    A few years ago we were talking about this same subject, and again we came to the point that our Lord really didn’t
have
to follow the law, when young Rosmarie remarked, “Well, isn’t this exactly like the story with the income tax?” (It was February, on the Feast of the Presentation, and the phrase “income tax” must have been heard frequently around the house.)
    “Which story with the income tax?” We asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
    “Oh,” said Rosmarie, “wasn’t our Lord once reminded that He hadn’t paid His tax yet, and didn’t He say to Peter, His friend, pretty clearly that He didn’t have to?” Feverishly turning the pages in her New Testament, she had found the place (Matt. 17:24–26) and read it to us triumphantly. “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?” (Matt. 17:25).
    In her own words she continued, “And Peter would say, ‘From others, of course.’ ” Then returning to the Book: “ ‘Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for yourself’ ” (Matt. 17:26–27).
    It is a real feast if oneself or someone in the family finds such connections as the “story of the income tax.” So it is pretty safe to say that of course, Mary knew, but “that we may not give offense to them,” she prepared for the three-fold ceremonies: her purification, the presentation of the Son, and the sacrifice for sin.
    Pitilessly the children want to know: “What happened in those weeks before they went to the temple?”
    The Gospel doesn’t say. No contemporary of those days is still living, no photographs were taken, no diaries were kept. But it must have happened
somehow
, and in all reverence, my guess is as good as yours. For instance, Ain Karim, the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth, was only about a mile and a half away from Bethlehem in the hill country. Isn’t it more than likely that within these 40 days of waiting Elizabeth