Today is Day 8 of our journey through the 25 days of Advent - I'm so glad you're here with me!
Our passage of Scripture today is Luke 1: 42 - 45 ...
Then she exclaimed with a loud cry: “You are the most blessed of women, and your child will be blessed! How could this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For you see, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped for joy inside me! She who has believed is blessed because what was spoken to her by the Lord will be fulfilled!”
After learning from the angel that she would give birth to the Son of God, Mary hurriesd to the hill country to visit her pregnant relative, Elizabeth. It's easy to miss, reading this passage in the 21st century, just how significant the actions of these two women were.
Firstly, Elizabeth reversed the social expectations of the time, by greeting Mary openly and with honour. As an unwed pregnant girl, Mary could have expected (and may possibly have already experienced) to be shamed, judged and even ostracised by other women - even her cousin.
But as an older woman who had been unable to have a child for so many years, Elizabeth had most likely already borne more than her fair share of scornful looks and derogatory comments. In her culture a woman’s primary purpose in life was to bear children, and so Elizabeth would have been considered a failure as a wife.
And yet, in a supernatural turn of events, God had just recently removed Elizabeth's garment of shame, and reversed her social status by His grace. In Luke 1: 25 she exclaims: “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people!"
Having been the object of scorn and pity for so long, Elizabeth refused to treat anyone the same way, and instead offers her young cousin a portion of grace out of her bountiful share. Secondly, instead of shaming Mary, she welcomes, blesses, and celebrates her, treating her as more honorable than herself. And so, the pregnancy that might have brought Mary shame brings her great joy and a position of honour instead.
By welcoming Mary, Elizabeth showed the neighbours - and the world - the same kind of all-inclusive, unconditional love that Jesus would later show to prostitutes, tax collectors, and sinners. Elizabeth was given a vision beyond the apparent shamefulness of Mary’s situation, to the reality of God’s love at work even (perhaps even "especially") among those who society prefers to reject and exclude.
As Christmas draws ever closer, may we be freed from being self-absorbed and self-centred! Instead, pray that the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with eagerness and generosity. Like Elizabeth, may we seek to go out in loving service of others, sharing the Father’s grace with those who don't deserve - every bit as much as we didn't, when He gave it so freely. And may we too experience the Father’s love leaping up in us, and in those we come in to contact with.
"Christmas is a time for giving. The prophets gave their promises. Elizabeth gave her praise. Mary gave her body. Joseph gave his reputation. The innkeeper gave his stable; the shepherds, their time. And God gave His Son. What are you giving for Christmas?" (J & S Briscoe)