Luke 1:39-56
“Notice what you notice.” Again today it was something really simple that I have read over and over and just never seen it. And again, it was a combination of two verses, 39 and 43. Verse 39 tells us that Mary went “…to the hill country, to a city of Judah” to visit Elizabeth. Simple enough – easily glossed over. However, in verse 43 Elizabeth is struck that Mary has come to visit: “And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (ESV) Why would Elizabeth be so surprised/honored by a visit from Mary? In part I think her reaction was due to the fact that the hill country of Judah was quite far from Mary’s home, Nazareth. The “hill country of Judah” is a mountainous string just west of the Dead Sea, essentially Jerusalem and points south (Bethlehem, Hebron, etc.). This region was some 80 miles from Nazareth “as the crow flies” and more like 120 miles by the most-traveled roads! That’s a long journey for a young woman in her first trimester! No wonder Elizabeth was surprised!
And to take Elizabeth’s reaction one step further, how did Elizabeth know that her relative, Mary was to become “the mother of my Lord”? Especially when news does not travel fast over an 80-120 mile distance…! We had an angel appearing to Zacharias with news of John’s birth, but there is no mention of Jesus’ origin, only of John’s future ministry preparing the way for Jesus. So how has news of Mary’s role as “the mother of our Lord” come to Elizabeth? How does she know? My only answer comes from verse 37, “For with God nothing will be impossible.” Nuff said…
Blessings!!
Far from indicating the meek, mild, silent figure in our nativity scenes, the song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) is the longest passage quoting a woman in the Bible and one of the most radical passages of scripture, according to this article. So much so, it reports, “Some countries — such as India, Guatemala, and Argentina — have outright banned the Magnificat from being recited in liturgy or in public.” Wow. Two of these countries are traditionally Catholic too!
Another quote from the article: “But Mary and her song are good news for my neighbors, both locally and globally, who continue to be crushed under a world that thrives on exploitation and injustice. And as someone who is trying to take the Bible seriously, I know that loving my neighbor is the No. 1 way I can love God in our world.”
I enjoyed the article; you might too.
Also, I looked up the artist Ben Wildflower who is mentioned in the article. No, you probably do not want to do so too as some of his stuff is rather irreverent. But here is the woodcut print of Mary the article mentions: it is maybe not attractive, but it does shake up my notion of the Euro-Mary clothed in serene blue gazing mutely, adoringly at her baby (guess he never needed a diaper change). While it goes to the opposite extreme and the pendulum needs to swing back to the middle, I enjoyed being shaken out of my cozy, placid stereotype.
Thanks, Carol. The photo of the woodcarving prompted me to read the article. But what will stand out in my mind is the woodcarving! Intriguing…!