This Advent we explore how God meets us in the ordinariness and messiness of life. We continue with Mary and Elizabeth.
Luke 1:39-45
“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
Reflection
Two women. Two miracles. One becomes pregnant in advancing years. The other becomes pregnant when single. One receives the long held desire of her heart. The other receives an unexpected blessing and favor from God. In their day, Mary’s story would be perceived as scandalous, and Elizabeth’s perhaps as humorous. The angel points Mary to her relative Elizabeth. He draws them together. Hope becomes enfleshed in community. These two women are knit together not just by blood, but by the gifts they have been given, hope through their relationship, and through who they carry within themselves. Through the gift of each other they are able to greater believe this miracle that has happened for both of them, and to embrace God’s delight in them.
Sometimes hope is hard to hang onto by ourselves. Sometimes it is hard to believe or receive God’s love for us.
Who is a person in your life who embodies hope, who reminds you who are as one beloved by God, and who is a reflection of God embodied in the flesh?
Prayer
God, when I am overwhelmed, remind me of those in my path who reflect You to me.
May I be someone who reflects You to all those in my path. Amen.
@2022, Rev. Eva Sullivan-Knoff, Executive Director