Word to the Wise
Saturday, December 21, 2019 - December 21
[Cant 2:8-14 or Zeph 3:14-18a and Luke 1:39-45]Hark! my lover - here he comes springing across the mountains, leaping across the hills.....[Song of Songs] Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you......[Zephaniah] 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.....For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy!" [Luke]
The scriptures for today seem to be almost giddy with emotion. There is a lot of excitement and leaping around, like kids anticipating....well...Christmas! That might be a bit of a stretch in the case of the Song of Songs, but the emphasis is on joy and anticipation of the arrival of a loved one. That's fair enough! Zephaniah is looking at an entire nation and its joyful deliverance from exile. That's certainly an occasion for joy. Both of these alternative Old Testament scriptures for today's Mass set up the gospel scripture and Elizabeth's reaction to Mary's visit. Needless to say, there was no way for Mary to phone ahead or send an e-mail or letter or text or tweet or instagram to announce she was coming. In those days, visitors usually just showed up! So, the joy is spontaneous and reaches even the baby in Elizabeth!
Elizabeth's greeting contains part of the prayer we know so well, the Hail Mary! Maybe during these last days before the celebration of Jesus' birth, we could give some consideration to the words we say so often: "Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb....." They are an invitation to join Elizabeth and those Old Testament prophets in the excitement. If we need models, we can just look at the children around us wherever we are! AMEN
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