Now well into her pregnancy, Elizabeth (and Zechariah) welcomes a visitor. She opens the door to yet another woman who is with child. But this woman is more than half her age. A now pregnant Mary walks in and in response to Mary’s greeting, a soon-to-be-born John, leaps for joy in his mother’s womb.
But that is far from the only leaping going on in verses 39-45. There’s a question that that keeps nagging at me as I meditate on this account of Mary’s visit to the “hill country of Judea.” I find myself wondering: “How did Elizabeth know so much about the child whom Mary would bear?” I mean, Mary gets the report on Elizabeth’s pregnancy from the angel Gabriel (v 36), but when he appeared to Zechariah in the temple, he didn’t make any mention about Mary being the chosen virgin to give birth to the Messiah. So how did Elizabeth know to say to her much younger relative: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear?”
In our day, we easily slip past this question mark - taking nearly instantaneous communication for granted and having a tendency to read that kind of availability back into ancient times. One thing’s for sure, Mary hadn’t updated her Facebook profile before she headed out to see Zechariah and Elizabeth. And Mary’s mother hadn’t given Elizabeth a heads up as she chatted with her on her cell phone while in check-out at the Nazareth’s supermarket. Add to this scenario that Elizabeth’s pregnancy was no insignificant happening as well. How come this pregnant woman – well advanced in years, spends all her time heaping praise upon Mary and her child who will be called Jesus?
In my way of understanding, there’s a whole lot of leaping going on in this section of the nativity story. Not only is Jumping John leaping for joy in the womb, but both Elizabeth and Mary are jumping for joy with one another as they can freely praise God for the gifts of the sons that are growing within them (well as much leaping as two pregnant women can safely manage). Elizabeth doesn’t have to endure the shocked stares and snickers as people in her village point to the “old woman” who’s having a baby. Mary doesn’t have to endure the innuendo and rumors that are already circulating about her in Nazareth. They have free reign in this household to laugh, cry, and silently stare at each other in wonder as they reflect on the angelic visits and the promises made for each of the sons they will give birth to soon enough.
God is definitely at work here. As Gabriel told Mary, “With God nothing is impossible.” That’s what we see as these two women praise the God who has blessed them in such a profound way. And the two have more than an inkling that God will use these two song to bless so many others. The prophet Isaiah described Christ’s coming in similar language when he wrote in verse six of chapter 35:
Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Maybe we could all use a little more leaping for joy to help not only our cardio readings, but our spiritual lives as well. It’s a great part of having a “John the Baptist” Christmas.
But that is far from the only leaping going on in verses 39-45. There’s a question that that keeps nagging at me as I meditate on this account of Mary’s visit to the “hill country of Judea.” I find myself wondering: “How did Elizabeth know so much about the child whom Mary would bear?” I mean, Mary gets the report on Elizabeth’s pregnancy from the angel Gabriel (v 36), but when he appeared to Zechariah in the temple, he didn’t make any mention about Mary being the chosen virgin to give birth to the Messiah. So how did Elizabeth know to say to her much younger relative: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear?”
In our day, we easily slip past this question mark - taking nearly instantaneous communication for granted and having a tendency to read that kind of availability back into ancient times. One thing’s for sure, Mary hadn’t updated her Facebook profile before she headed out to see Zechariah and Elizabeth. And Mary’s mother hadn’t given Elizabeth a heads up as she chatted with her on her cell phone while in check-out at the Nazareth’s supermarket. Add to this scenario that Elizabeth’s pregnancy was no insignificant happening as well. How come this pregnant woman – well advanced in years, spends all her time heaping praise upon Mary and her child who will be called Jesus?
In my way of understanding, there’s a whole lot of leaping going on in this section of the nativity story. Not only is Jumping John leaping for joy in the womb, but both Elizabeth and Mary are jumping for joy with one another as they can freely praise God for the gifts of the sons that are growing within them (well as much leaping as two pregnant women can safely manage). Elizabeth doesn’t have to endure the shocked stares and snickers as people in her village point to the “old woman” who’s having a baby. Mary doesn’t have to endure the innuendo and rumors that are already circulating about her in Nazareth. They have free reign in this household to laugh, cry, and silently stare at each other in wonder as they reflect on the angelic visits and the promises made for each of the sons they will give birth to soon enough.
God is definitely at work here. As Gabriel told Mary, “With God nothing is impossible.” That’s what we see as these two women praise the God who has blessed them in such a profound way. And the two have more than an inkling that God will use these two song to bless so many others. The prophet Isaiah described Christ’s coming in similar language when he wrote in verse six of chapter 35:
Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy.
Maybe we could all use a little more leaping for joy to help not only our cardio readings, but our spiritual lives as well. It’s a great part of having a “John the Baptist” Christmas.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment