The Lord's Patroness

By Nova Wells

The Bible doesn’t tell us anything about Mary Magdala before she met Jesus and was healed. After being healed, Mary became a very important person in Jesus ministry, but her presence is noted more than her activity. Because Mary was a common name during Jesus lifetime, scholars sometimes assign additional passages that give her questionable identities.

Retired United Methodist pastor Nova Wells researched mental illness and selected paranoid schizophrenia as the devils Mary might have had. More research helped her create Mary’s home, the business her father might have had and the geographical setting. Then it was time for imagination to take over.

The first half of The Lord’s Patroness takes the reader from Mary’s first attack of mental illness through seven years of adventures with her voices telling her to trust or to flee. The reader will share Mary’s fear, meet the people who helped her and discover her survival skills.

We have always known Mary Magdala had a strength of character and independence beyond most women of her time. In this novel you will find her business and management skills, sense of humor and devotion to her Lord Jesus Christ. Experience the crucifixion and the joy of resurrection with Mary when she is the first to see the risen Jesus. Then go spread the message of the Good News yourself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nova Wells
• Release date: Feb 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781465864383

Nova Wells

About the Author Born and raised in Kansas, the daughter of school teachers, Nova Wells has a BME (music education) from Fort Hays KSU and a Master’s of Divinity from St. Paul School of Theology. She was ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and served several rural churches in Iowa. “It put together all the things I had been: teacher, writer, musician, secretary, wife and mother—and made me a whole person.” When health problems forced an early retirement, Wells and her husband moved to Texas where she announced “Someday has arrived,” and started on the many projects that had been postponed until Someday. This included writing books. A Rockhound for years, Wells likes to cut and polish semi-precious gem stones and make them into jewelry. She and her husband paint with a senior citizen’s art class. Her hobbies also include sewing, knitting and playing bridge.

Book preview

The Lord’s Patroness

by Nova Wells

copyright 2012, Nova Wells

Smashwords Edition

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Luke 8:2...as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out...NRSV

Chapter 1

Oh, Mary groaned to herself. Why did I wait so long to leave Sarah’s house? I didn’t think it could get so dark so quickly! She turned the corner and walked north, searching the deserted street with large, black eyes. Something moved at the periphery of her vision everywhere she looked.

She was afraid the whiteness of her robe and head scarf made a luminescent target for all the eyes she imagined were watching her. Every dark corner increased her apprehension. She pulled her arms to her sides hoping to make herself invisible. When she tried to hurry, her sandals made little slapping sounds on the cobblestones and her breath came in short puffs.

The walls of homes and shops felt ominous, closing in on either side of her like a narrow tunnel. She told herself that this was the same wide, sunny street she had walked to Sarah’s house early in the afternoon. No friendly lights shown from the windowless buildings. Doors stood secure against the coming night. Shadows dissolved into darkness and the first stars shown dimly against the twilight. At street intersections Mary could see torches along the Galilean lake shore. The last fishermen were rowing in or pulling their boats onto the beach.

It took only a few minutes to reach Sarah’s house, but in the faded daylight, it seemed to take forever to get home. A rat, darting from a shop doorway, crossed the street a few inches from her feet. She jumped and squealed as he scurried past.

Two tall, slender figures came from a side street and began following her. She glanced back.

Two Men! Her mind spun. She remembered stories of terrible things that could happen to a woman on the street at night. If I run it will only attract more attention, Mary thought. I’m almost home. Panic struck her as she looked ahead. The buildings look like they are coming together, closing the street, desperation tingeing her whisper. It can’t be happening!

You grab her and I’ll get the bag ready for her head. muttered a male voice behind her.

She’s awfully little, squeaked the other in protest.

Don’t argue, just grab!

Mary screamed; a long, piercing wail.

Stop screaming, Mary, the low mutter became a familiar, teasing sound. It’s only John and James. Mother was worried because you hadn’t come home and sent us to find you. Mary screamed again, but softer, fear still dilating her eyes.

Come on, Mary, we just wanted to scare you a little, not terrify you. And don’t cry or we’ll all be in trouble! Her brothers stood protectively on either side of her, touching her arms to reassure her. Still she couldn’t stop shaking. The three waited in the street while she tried to calm herself.

We’re sorry, Mary, James offered. He stooped to swat an insect biting the bare leg between his tunic and sandals, then straightened. We had no idea you would be so frightened.

I-I-I th-thought you were still in the hills, she stuttered, glancing nervously toward home. The walls were moving again until the street became a path disappearing into the darkness. She grabbed John’s hand and pulled frantically. We have to run. The buildings are going to crush us! They’re coming together.

Startled, the brothers turned to look toward their home. I get it, James chuckled. Now you’re trying to scare us by playing crazy! That’s a good joke!

John held her hand tightly. Even if you weren’t teasing, we wouldn’t need to run. For you, little sister, I will hold the buildings apart! he gestured grandly.

Mary didn’t laugh. She pulled to free herself but John restrained her and tried to soothe her with conversation. Did you have a good time visiting Sarah? You must have, to have stayed so late! He turned and started walking slowly toward home.

Mary didn’t answer. Why weren’t her brothers afraid? They thought she was pretending, teasing them. How could the buildings be moving? Were her eyes seeing things that weren’t there? Bewildered, she tried to smile up at John. When she looked back again, the street returned to its normal width, with familiar protecting walls.

We found her, Mother, John called as he opened the door of their home. The lamps around the walls made highlights on his black, curly hair and short beard.

She’s fine, James added, just scared of the dark. He looked at Mary with a teasing twinkle in his eyes.

Mary hurried through the main room, then through the kitchen where her mother was supervising the slaves in the preparation of the evening meal. Garlic scented steam rose from the iron kettle hung in the fireplace and mixed with the smell of fresh baked bread. Ignoring her mother and exiting to the garden, Mary turned and ran to the room attached to the southwest corner of the house; the room she shared with her younger sister Miriam. After a quick glance around the empty room, she closed her eyes with relief. Miriam must be helping with meal preparations.

Squeezing herself into a corner and sliding into a crouch, Mary pulled a pillow to her chest. She rocked her body, letting her head bump rhythmically against the wall. She began to hum softly. Ummm, ahummmm; just a single note, in rhythm to the rocking. She closed her eyes again and forced her mind into a velvet nothingness to ease the nerves still jumping in her stomach.

A scraping sound penetrated her senses. Miriam stood silhouetted in front of her. With a flush of guilt, Mary stopped humming and rocking. She tried to focus her eyes, but things looked fuzzy. She recognized her sister’s child body and glints of light on straight brown hair.

What’s the matter with you? Miriam asked. I called and called without getting an answer. You must be in Egypt! Dinner is ready. Go wash your hands and face. She hesitated when there was no response. Are you sick?

Mary shook her head, still unable to speak. She laid the pillow on the floor beside her and slowly got to her feet. How much time had passed....a few minutes or hours. Surely only minutes if dinner was ready. She followed Miriam through the kitchen where the slaves stood waiting with bowls of food to be served.

In the central room, Benjamin, John and James were reclining on the new Roman style couches Benjamin had recently purchased. Two small marble topped tables sat in front of the couches so each of the men could reach the food being served. Directly across from the men, Elizabeth sat on a stool at a matching table which was taller and slightly larger. Miriam quickly sat on the stool on her mother’s right, while Mary, looking only at the mosaic floor, moved to the other side. Two slaves followed with bowls of steaming lamb stew and a basket of bread.

Benjamin looked sternly at his older daughter. She ducked her head to avoid seeing his eyes, so large and dark like her own. We will speak about this later, he assured her. Now turn your thoughts to God for his blessing.

The family ate in silence until the first serving of stew had been consumed. Benjamin turned casually toward John. Tell me, John; how are the flocks and the shepherds? John and James had just returned that afternoon from spending a month with the shepherds in the hills above Magdala.

John leaned back against the pillows of his couch and smiled. They’re doing well, Father, and the new man you hired can manage both animals and slaves.

This was Mary’s favorite time. By custom the women did not speak, but Mary was fascinated by conversation about the management of the vineyard, flocks and new fabric mill. Her mind soaked up the details of business and analyzed problems and decisions. Her brothers were learning to take responsibility in the family businesses, although James wanted a career making fine jewelry.

Tonight the words floated around her head. She shook herself slightly and tried to concentrate on what John was saying. He was talking about a new man hired to teach the shepherds to improve the flocks through selective breeding. The floating sounds refused to make understandable words. She watched John’s lips forming the syllables, but the sounds didn’t match his lip movements. She remembered the street outside getting narrower and the building whose walls threatened to fall on her. She sat very still and dipped her polished wooden spoon into the stew in her bowl.

James had said she was afraid of the dark, but she had never been afraid like this before. Even if bad dreams woke her in the blackness of night, her good sense had always kept her calm. What was happening? Fear of the dark was for little children and she was not a child.

James was speaking, if you try to humiliate men, even slaves, they will mutter rebellion. If you treat them with respect, they will honor you and work hard for you. His voice came to her from a distant place. She studied her bowl and willed her ears to catch his words. Then her father was saying something about God being good and rewarding them with prosperity. All his children would share in his wealth, he declared. She folded her hands in her lap and looked up. My father’s hair has gray coming, she thought.

Mary! She flinched visibly and bowed her head.

Yes, Father, her answer was barely audible.

I am certain you did not intend to worry your mother by your lateness. Still, you could have caused serious, even tragic consequences. What punishment should you have to aid your thoughtfulness and memory?

Benjamin, Elizabeth interrupted. I’m not sure punishment is what is needed. She nervously patted the braid of dark brown hair coiled around her head, as if a perfect appearance would give her confidence. Perhaps you should speak to Simon’s family.

Benjamin looked startled, then thoughtful, his silence building an almost visible tension. Absently he rubbed the little belly his body was beginning to form, a symbol of well-being.

Mary’s thoughts tumbled over each other. ‘Simon’s family? That means they want me to marry. A husband to take care of me; family responsibilities to keep me from visiting my friends; from being out on the streets.’

Finally Benjamin spoke. You are right, Elizabeth. I have neglected Mary. I have allowed myself to think only of finding an artist in gold and silver who would take James as an apprentice. How long has it been since Simon died?

More than a year, Elizabeth answered. Benjamin had signed a marriage contract with Simon’s parents when Mary was a baby, promising her to Simon. The marriage would have taken place in two months. Simon had contacted some terrible, wearing illness, growing weaker and weaker for several months before he died. Mary had not seen him during that time. She remembered a mischievous boy with dark, shining eyes and curly hair, who was her intended husband. She felt only hollowness at his death, since grief for a stranger seemed inappropriate.

It is time, Benjamin agreed. It may take me a year to find a suitable husband and a year for the announcements and preparation. Still, Mary, you must not forget the seriousness of what you have done tonight. It will be your new duty to learn everything necessary to be a good wife and mother, to manage a household. This is not punishment, but privilege and recognition of your maturity. Do not disappoint me!

Mary nodded and shivered. A husband! Must she leave these secure limestone walls she had known all her life. The oil lamps in their carved ledges flickered with her distress.

Benjamin pronounced the benediction. James and John stayed to continue their discussion of the family businesses. Elizabeth went to the kitchen to dismiss the slaves for the night. Mary and Miriam were starting toward their room in the garden when their father spoke again.

Mary. Benjamin’s voice was firm. You will come and stand before me and explain why you were late enough to be caught by the setting sun.Mary stood, trying to make her mouth and voice work. She was not afraid of her father, yet her body began trembling.

Is the truth a terrible secret? Are you too afraid to speak? His expression was suddenly gentle. Surely you know I do not intend to beat you?Mary shook her head, not sure which question her father would find answered. She sought his eyes. There, visually bathed in love and concern, she found her voice.

We were just caring for the little ones. She referred to Sarah’s three younger siblings. We played games and fixed their evening meal. I expected Sarah’s mother to be home in time for me to leave, but she was late. I’m so sorry to have worried you.

Feeling tears start, she turned and ran to her room. A husband! She would have to leave her home. A man could do anything he wanted, but a woman had to become a wife and mother!

Chapter 2

Early morning light filtered through the courtyard door and high windows. Cool air from the disappearing night filled the courtyard. A group of small brown birds hopped busily from the olive and almond trees to the ground and back again, feeding on seeds and small insects. Mary stood just inside the kitchen and looked nervously about her. Six slaves waited their morning instructions.

Slender, with short black hair, black eyes and almost amber colored skin, the slaves were from eastern tribes; the war booty of soldiers who captured them and sold them into slavery. Not yet 14, Mary was taller than the women and nearly as tall as the two men. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and cleared her throat.

There is nothing unusual today, she began. Her voice sounded scared. Resolutely she straightened her back. She tried to make her voice firm, but gentle, like her mother’s was when speaking to slaves.

Zieben and Alex, you will continue your usual duties with the animals and garden. Will you have any problems.?

No, Mistress, Zieben answered. A man of nearly 40, he stood relaxed, with his thumbs hooked in the rope he had tied at his waist, belting his short, brown tunic.

Beside him, Alex was slightly hunched with his powerful hands loose at his sides. His posture was a clear indication of his mentality, which Benjamin had noted when he bought the young slave.

Donkeys for riding, milk goats and usually a lamb waiting to be butchered, were kept in the courtyard behind the mill. The two male slaves fed the animals and cleaned the ground where they were tethered. Straw spread near the wall or under a tree, made a shaded bedding area. Alex tended the trees and flowers of the main courtyard, following Zieben’s explicit instructions. Sometimes he needed to haul water from the lake with one of the donkeys.

You may go then, Mary nodded to them. The men bowed slightly and left the courtyard through a gate in the wall between the two buildings.

Dila, you will fetch our drinking water from the public well and go to the stalls to buy fruits and vegetables. Careta will instruct you. These were the duties Dila performed every day. Dila was Careta’s daughter, the youngest of the slaves, a year older than Mary. Although she had been born into slavery, developing womanhood had brought increasing resentment of her station. She moved her body seductively when she walked and when there might be any men to see her, she liked to run her hands down her sides, drawing her tunic tightly around the curves of her body.

Yes, Mistress, except there are no coins in the basket. Her manner in her mother’s presence was necessarily demure.

Oh, Mary hesitated, flustered by the unexpected. Oh......I will get more while you are fetching the water. She only hoped there were more coins in the house. The little bit of confidence she pretended, evaporated. She would have to ask her mother for money, and she had wanted complete independence this first day in charge.

Leith and Sanya, do as Careta directs, This too, was standard. Careta was older than Elizabeth and had been in charge of the kitchen since Elizabeth and Benjamin were first married. After the bread is baked, you will do the laundry, Mary paused to see if there were any questions.

Yes, Mistress. The four women nodded. They were being unusually solemn and except for Dila, displayed their pride in her. Careta had helped with Mary’s birth and was the one who taught her to make bread and bake it in the outdoor oven.

Leith had been purchased as a teenager for the specific task of keeping Mary out of trouble as she toddled through the house and courtyard. Sanya knew how to make pottery and taught both Mary and Miriam to bake little plates and bowls for their own play dishes.

Dila picked up the large water jar, balanced it on her head and started for the public well at the center of town. She needed to make two trips to provide drinking and cooking water for the day. Water for other purposes came from the cistern and pool in the courtyard.

Leith and Sanya started the bread dough. Careta began sweeping the stone slab floor of the kitchen with a wheat-straw broom, while mentally planning the menus and checking supplies. One of the others would sweep the three main rooms of the house, which lay parallel with each other and perpendicular to the long, narrow kitchen.

Mary looked at the white limestone walls. How she loved this house. It was the only house she could remember. John liked to tell stories about living next door in the house turned mill, Benjamin’s newest business.

Mary remembered the need for coins. She decided to use some of her own money, knowing her mother would replace it. She went through the courtyard, into the sleeping room she shared with Miriam, and opened a trunk at the foot of her platform bed. Feeling around various garments, she found a small lamb-skin bag. She selected three large coins and replaced the others. This should do nicely, she smiled, pleased with her decision.

In the kitchen she placed the coins in a small