Word to the Wise
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 -
[Song of Songs 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a and Luke 1:39-45]"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." [Luke]
The beautiful and poignant moment of the reunion of two unexpectedly pregnant kinswomen is bigger than it seems! Scripture scholars tell us that the "infancy narratives" in Luke and Matthew were the last parts of those two gospels to be written. They are written in the light of subsequent events. This should not surprise us. We often do not see the significance of an earlier event until later events occur. Luke uses this story as a way of communicating some important messages about the people involved.
There are four characters in this "vignette": Mary, Elizabeth, Jesus and John the Baptist. Mary and Elizabeth are presented to us as model disciples (and prophetesses) because of their faith that whatever God has determined, they will accept. Jesus is presented as greater than John because Elizabeth acknowledges Jesus as "my Lord," and John reacts with joy in the womb. Mary's "Magnificat" speaks to all that the prophets had foretold. Later, in the same chapter, at the birth of John the Baptist, his father Zechariah will speak the prophetic canticle we call the "Benedictus." [I recommend reading all of Chapter One of Luke to get the whole meaningful tapestry.]
The manger scene occasionally features a figurine of John the Baptist! Great drama sometimes requires us to put all kinds of events on the same stage at the same time. As we reflect on the scene in the stable, all the other characters hover about to remind us that by being there in front of the scene, we too are witnesses along with Elizabeth, Zechariah, shepherds, John the Baptist, the Magi and, yes, the animals too! "How does this happen to us?" AMEN
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