God Fulfills His Plan

Mary’s visitation to he cousin Elizabeth is a pivotal story in the infancy narratives. We hear how Mary travels to visit her cousins in haste. We can only imagine Mary’s excitement and joy on that journey. We can also imagine the uneasiness that she may have felt knowing what was about to unfold: how would she tell Joseph, what would his reaction be, and what would be the reaction of her family and the people of her hometown? As we rush to finish Advent and anticipate the joy of Christmas, it would do us well to journey with Mary in our hearts and allow her to inflame our excitement and longing for the birth of her son.

The Visitation

Gospel - Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out in those days

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,

"Most 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."

Scriptural Analysis

The traditional location for the house of Zechariah and Elizabeth is the village of Ian Karim in the hill country near Jerusalem. It is about five miles from the temple, which would have been important given Zechariah’s priestly duties. However, for Mary, this is about a 90-mile journey from Nazareth, taking several days to complete. There is no mention in the scripture of Joseph accompanying her, and she left in haste, indicating her earnestness in fulfilling the plan of God.

Mary’s greeting of Elizabeth elicits a response just as the greeting of Gabriel did. The infant, John, leaped in his mother’s womb. We are told that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The verb used for leap is also used in the Septuagint to describe how Esau and Jacob would struggle in the womb of Rebekah, another once barren woman, “The children struggled together within her.” (Genesis 25:22) Rebekah was told that the older would serve the younger which is also going to happen here with John and Jesus, “The elder shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

Filled with the spirit, Elizabeth tells Mary, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” A better translation would use the word most to describe the blessedness of Mary. Elizabeth’s greeting recalls two great heroines of Jewish history, Jael, “Most blessed of women be Jael” (Judges 5:24), and Judith, “O daughter, you are blessed by the Most High God above all women on earth.” (Judith 13:18)

Like her predecessors, Mary has a mission to accomplish through which God will help Israel. The mission involves bearing the fruit of her womb. Elizabeth recognizes that Mary is pregnant and like Mary, the child is also blessed. The Greek verb used here, eulogeō means to invoke a blessing on someone. In other words, Mary and Jesus have been blessed by God.

Elizabeth then asks her famous question, “And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” In Old Testament writings, the title My Lord frequently refers to the Davidic King, “Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to the ground, and did obeisance to the king, and said, ‘May my lord King David live for ever!’”(1 Kings 1:31). Filled with the spirit, Elizabeth must recognizes that Mary is carrying the king, the Messiah.

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew name of God was often translated as Lord (kyrios). Thus far, Luke has used that word to reference the Lord God, but now he is using it to describe Jesus. Luke has spoken of Jesus’s divinity; thus, Jesus shared, in the fullest sense, this title with God.

Throughout this section, Luke is trying to show how Mary is the ark of the New Covenant. Note how Luke states that Mary went to Judah,.the tribal name of the region instead of Judea. David too went to the village of Judah to retrieve the Ark, “And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-Judah, to bring up from there the ark .” (2 Samuel 6:2) Elizabeth’s surprise in the visit from Mary also echos that of David when he was about to bring the ark to Jerusalem, “And David was afraid of the Lord that day; and he said, ‘How can the ark of the Lord come to me?’” (2 Samuel 6:9)

John leaped when Jesus arrived whereas David danced when the ark arrived, “King David leaping and dancing before the Lord.” (2 Samuel 6:16). Finally, Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months. This is the same amount of time the ark remained in the house of Obed-edom before David brought it up to Jerusalem, “And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months.” (2 Sam 6:11). Luke is showing Mary is the true ark of the covenant.

Daily Application

Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is one of those scripture passages that could be misread. One could read it as a sign of doubt. Mary was heading there to see if Elizabeth was truly pregnant because she doubted the message she had received. Such a reading would be incorrect. Mary did not doubt: “May it be done to me according to your word.” Rather, Mary traveled in haste out of joy, out of a desire to share this experience with Elizabeth, who also had a miraculous event transpire in her life.

While most of us will never be visited by an angel or perhaps experience a miraculous event like Mary and Elizabeth did, there is something for us to take away from the visitation. What we see here is great joy on the part of Mary and Elizabeth at how God is working through them. God works through us as well. Perhaps it is in more subtle ways, but he uses every one of us. It can be as simple as comforting our child when they are ill or saying a kind word to the clerk at the grocery store. We should relish these moments and take great joy in the fact that God works through us. As we approach the Nativity of the Lord, commit yourself to taking time at the end of each day to examine how God has worked through you that day. If you look, I promise you will see him at work. Then, take a moment to be joyous, just as Mary and Elizabeth were before the first Christmas.