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Gospel: Luke 1:39-45
Mary set out
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Elizabeth welcomes Mary with open arms, making this the only passage in the Gospels where two women meet… and they’re both pregnant.
These moms-to-be embrace, laugh, wonder, and wipe away each other’s tears, rejoicing over what has happened. Elizabeth is six months pregnant with John the Baptist. And, more importantly, God has taken on flesh in the womb of Mary.
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The backdrop of this embrace begins at the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel appears to Mary, revealing that she’ll bear the Son of God in her womb. It’s a preposterous, risky proposal. “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” she questions.
Being found pregnant as a young teenager without a husband would’ve been a social taboo, a scarlet letter. Mary not only risks losing Joseph; she also risks losing her life. According to the Law, Joseph could have her stoned for such an offense.
And yet, she doesn’t consult a single human being before consenting to God’s will.
Mary makes the decision herself, accepting Gabriel’s proclamation, revealing not only her purity of heart, but also her autonomy – as both a woman and a believer. She’s willing to risk everything in order to glorify God.
And so, Mary smuggles God into this world, keeping him safe inside her own body for nine months. In the process, she experiences a type of death-to-self.
Her fiat – her “yes” – becomes the forerunner to the famous words later written by Saint Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who is living in me.” From the moment of the Annunciation onward, Mary and Christ are one.
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Seeking to share this Good News, Mary travels 80-miles through rugged hill country in order to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. Their embrace leads to the first worship service where Christ is the cause and center.
Upon her arrival, John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb as Elizabeth praises Mary’s boldness and faith.
“How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” she exclaims.
In the Old Testament, the “mother of my Lord” was a title reserved for the queen mother. She, not the king’s wife, reigned as queen. Her power and influence were second only to the king.
For example, at the moment of King David’s death, his son, Solomon, ascends the throne. And the first thing he does as king is bow to his mother. Solomon provides her with a throne, and says to her, “My mother, I will not refuse you” (1 Kings 2:19-20).
Thus, when Elizabeth greets Mary and calls her, “the mother of my Lord,” she not only recognizes that Mary is the new queen of Israel; she also recognizes that her child, Christ, is the king.
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Mary humbly accepts this, but she elevates that praise to God, singing a song of adoration. “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,” she says. “For he has looked with favor upon his lowly servant.”
Though she may be queen, Mary bows in adoration to Christ the King.
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What makes Mary and Elizabeth’s worship even richer is the fact that both of them rejoice in the midst of uncertainty.
Mary must’ve wondered, “Will Joseph accept me as I am? After all, I did not consult him about this pregnancy.”
Elizabeth must’ve wondered, “Will Zechariah, her husband, speak again after being struck mute by an angel in the Temple?”
Both of them must’ve wondered whether or not they’d survive childbirth, if they’d be worthy mothers of these children, and what, exactly, their children would become.
Yet in their uncertainty coupled with joy, they worship the Lord.
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It’s what we do every time we gather as a community of faith. We celebrate the unknown, the providence of God in our lives, our gratitude for the past, and our hope for the future.
May Mary and Elizabeth pray for us, that we’d welcome Christ this Christmas, smuggling him first into the warmth of our hearts, then sharing this Good News with the world.
Salvation has come!
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Image credits: (1) Our Sunday Visitor (2) The Sisterhood of Saint John the Divine (3)