Mary must have had a lot on her mind during her long and uncomfortable journey to visit Elizabeth and Zechariah. She was a pregnant teen who encountered an angel that made grandiose promises about her future. Elizabeth was a pregnant, older woman, who had an encounter with an angel too. Surely they had a lot to talk about.
Both women chose to believe in little more than a promise. Yet, Elizabeth had a five to six month head start with respect to coming to terms with it. While Mary accepted what the angel said with a humble and obedient heart, I can’t help but wonder if she wasn’t thrilled with the idea until she showed up at Elizabeth’s house.
It was the perfect place for both women to spend time together and share what God was doing in their lives. Her husband was a priest, and their community was aware of, and involved with, this miracle in the making since the beginning. Elizabeth also had a lot of time to think and talk about her future son and his role in preparing the way for Jesus. So did Zechariah, who would have undoubtedly examined this at length with some of his colleagues too.
Mary’s arrival helped both of them to make sense of what was happening, and this caused everyone to rejoice. Together, they found affirmation, validation and encouragement in terms of really embracing what God called them to do instead of just being obedient. The Spirit brought them together in the right environment, with the right support, to prepare them to prepare the way of the Lord.
Imagine that- even before John and Jesus were born, the Spirit of God was already tenderizing hearts and injecting hope. All they had to do was believe and say yes without knowing a lot of details. God took care of the rest. Their belief became contagious too, especially among those who interacted with Mary and Elizabeth during their time together.
Sometimes we are called to believe in little more than a promise. Let Mary and Elizabeth inspire us to have the courage to say yes, even if we don’t see the big picture. God leads us to where we need to be, among the right people, at the right time, for those promises to become reality.
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