Word to the Wise
Friday, December 21, 2012 -
[Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a and Luke 1:39-45]Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.
The scene of the "Visitation" is one that offers many levels of meaning! There is the poignance and emotion of two women meeting who are both unexpectedly pregnant. There is the wonderful "canticle," the "Magnificat," which Mary utters (not part of today's passage - just read the whole chapter); there are the lines from Elizabeth which form part of the "Hail Mary!" Then there is the line from Elizabeth, quoted above, which sums up the whole scene but also captures the whole gospel!
In Luke's "infancy narrative" Mary is presented as an ideal disciple, open to the Lord's word, believing in it, and acting upon it. Elizabeth simply describes Mary, but in doing so offers us the model of discipleship. Later on Jesus would say that those who hear the word of God and act upon it are his family! So, we can imagine the moment of greeting but perhaps see the "ripples" of meaning that radiate from the story. It is a rich season of the "grace of the Word!" AMEN
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