Mary
set out at that time and went as quickly as she could into
the hill country to a town in Judah. 40She went into
Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth. 41Now it
happened that as soon as Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt
in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She gave a loud cry and said, 'Of all women you are
the most blessed, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43Why
should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord? 44Look,
the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy. 45Yes, blessed is she who believed that the promise
made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.'
1. To put
things in the language of our protestant friends, Mary has literally “accepted
Jesus;” He is literally “in her life.” He is controlling her life and hence
Mary has literally made Him “lord of her life.”
2. Fruit follows
from that:
a. Mary becomes
the channel through which the Holy Spirit is distributed.
b. Elizabeth/John
are immediately impacted by Jesus’ presence, via Mary.
3. That
happened because Mary accepted God’s will/plan, even though it must have been
radically different from her own plans/expectations.
4. I wonder if
Elizabeth’s statement in Luke 1:45 refers to her or Mary.
5. Mary
accepted God’s plan wholeheartedly, without reservation. Luke 1:39 states that
she followed up on God’s statement about Elizabeth “as quickly as she could.” Other
English translations say that she did so “with haste” or “hurried”
to do so. The underlying Greek word, “σπουδή,” means “earnestness in
accomplishing … or striving after something” or “diligence.” That is
consistent with Mary’s courage, as
discussed in connection with the annunciation, Luke 1:26-38.
6. Although the
fruit referenced in point 2 above came after and because of Mary’s acceptance
of God’s direction, it did not happen immediately upon her doing so. Time,
upheaval, and significant effort occurred in the meantime: the time, upheaval,
and significant effort involved in her leaving her home to make the journey
from Nazareth to Judea. That was a journey of approximately 65 miles or 104
kilometers, likely made on foot.
a. That pattern
is similar to that of many of the miracles recorded in the gospels: Jesus comes
to the recipient, the recipient accepts His power, the recipient takes some significant
affirmative action in reliance upon Jesus’ instruction, and then the miraculous transformation
occurs.
b. We see a
similar pattern elsewhere in scripture (God coming to someone, that person
accepting God’s authority and taking action that God directs, and miraculous
results occurring after the action is taken). We see it in Noah (Genesis 6:5-8:22), Abraham’s
thwarted sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-18), Elijah
and the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 7:7-16), Elisha and
the oil (2 Kings 4:1-7), and
Elisha’s multiplication of Loaves (2 Kings 4:42-44).
c. Given that
commonality in differing situations, we can infer that that sequence is likely
when God asks us to accept/do something.
7. The practicalities
of Mary and Elizabeth’s situations illustrate that even great works of/for God
involve humble, drudgery type, work. Being pregnant is not easy, but both Mary
and Elizabeth had to go through those natural difficulties in order
to execute their part of God’s supernatural plan of salvation.
8. The mutually
reinforcing reaction between Mary & Elizabeth is an example of God making
use of something on multiple levels:
a. On one level
(probably the primary level) God uses Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist) to
prepare the way for Jesus.
b. On another,
He’s using Elizabeth and her pregnancy with John to prepare/reinforce Mary, who
must have been having some doubts/fears/second thoughts.
c. Both women
were likely facing social stigma, and their time together was likely mutual
reinforcement during a tough time.
d. Further, Mary’s
time with Elizabeth was probably great training for Mary about dealing with pregnancy,
child birth, and related things that she would have to go through.
Other meditations on Jesus’ nativity are collected at What We Can Learn from Jesus' Nativity: The Annunciation through Simeon & Anna
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