The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate the message for us in the action of Mary to bring joy and support to Elizabeth praising the action of God in their lives.
Gratitude for support
The reading from the Prophet Zephaniah is a Song of Joy for Jerusalem Restored.
the prophecy of Zephaniah would be contemporary with the early prophecy of Jeremiah, with which it shares both language and ideas.1
The response from the Prophet Isaiah is a Song of Thanksgiving.
* [12:1–6] Israel’s thanksgiving to the Lord, expressed in language like that of the Psalms.2
In the Gospel of Luke, Mary visits Elizabeth and offers a Song of Praise.
* [1:46–55] Although Mary is praised for being the mother of the Lord and because of her belief, she reacts as the servant in a psalm of praise, the Magnificat. Because there is no specific connection of the canticle to the context of Mary’s pregnancy and her visit to Elizabeth, the Magnificat (with the possible exception of v. 48) may have been a Jewish Christian hymn that Luke found appropriate at this point in his story. Even if not composed by Luke, it fits in well with themes found elsewhere in Luke: joy and exultation in the Lord; the lowly being singled out for God’s favor; the reversal of human fortunes; the fulfillment of Old Testament promises. The loose connection between the hymn and the context is further seen in the fact that a few Old Latin manuscripts identify the speaker of the hymn as Elizabeth, even though the overwhelming textual evidence makes Mary the speaker.3
Larry Gillick, S.J. notes that Mary of Nazareth had been offered a hard-to-accept surprising gift which was not unbelievable, because she did believe. Why does she, according to Luke’s account, head for the hills of Judea so quickly?
We who have been confined by the virus know the urgency to visit family, friends and all whom we love. We will go with “haste” and with great joy to bless with our love, as did Mary. That longing to stay in our presence, is the same longing God is urging within our souls. We might ask the same question of God as Elizabeth asks upon Mary’s arrival. “How is it that the mother of my Lord should come to me” The answer is that Love just has to!4
Judith Jones on the Working Preacher website offers a commentary on Luke 1:46-55.
Furthermore, she perceives God’s action in her life as consistent with God’s saving action in history. The Mighty One’s agenda differs radically from the plans of human rulers. Mary’s celebration of God’s strong arm recalls Hannah’s song in 1 Samuel 2:1–10. Like Mary, Hannah experienced a miraculous pregnancy. Like Mary’s son, Hannah’s son Samuel spoke God’s word. Both Hannah and Mary praise God for overturning society’s structures by bringing down the powerful and lifting up the powerless. Mary’s song does not share Hannah’s militaristic imagery, however, for Mary’s son will bless not the makers of war, but the peacemakers.5
Don Schwager quotes “John prophecies from the womb,” by Maximus of Turin (died between 408-423 AD).
"Not yet born, already John prophesies and, while still in the enclosure of his mother's womb, confesses the coming of Christ with movements of joy - since he could not do so with his voice. As Elizabeth says to holy Mary, 'As soon as you greeted me, the child in my womb exulted for joy.' John exults, then, before he is born. Before his eyes can see what the world looks like, he can recognize the Lord of the world with his spirit. In this regard, I think that the prophetic phrase is appropriate: 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you came forth from the womb I sanctified you' (Jeremiah 1:5). Thus we ought not to marvel that after Herod put him in prison, he continued to announce Christ to his disciples from his confinement, when even confined in the womb he preached the same Lord by his movements." (excerpt from SERMON 5.4)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 1:39-56 comments that Mary’s decision to spend time with Elizabeth was an act of human solidarity. It reflects a fundamental truth of the way God made us—as a community of people who share our joys and sorrows with one another. God doesn’t want us to navigate the various twists and turns in our lives on our own; he desires to move us toward deeper fellowship with one another.
Mary’s actions also reflected Christ’s presence in her. Instead of turning inward upon herself, she reached out to someone else. How incredibly beautiful that her first instinct was to visit her cousin! Yet isn’t that always what Christ’s presence within us does? It prompts us, like Mary, to reach out and love another person in some specific and inspired way. This is what it means to let Christ within us move us to love.7
Friar Jude Winkler notes the call of Zephaniah for all people of Jerusalem to shout with joy because of the action of the Lord. Luke presents Mary as the example of the anawim in her hymn of praise, the Magnificat. Friar Jude uses the geography of Kiriath-Jearim across from Abu Ghosh to identify Mary as the new Ark of the Covenant.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, quotes Jesuit scientist Teilhard de Chardin who wrote that “Love is the physical structure of the universe.” Indigenous Choctaw elder and Episcopal Bishop Steven Charleston describes in practical terms how this love and foundational hope surround us at all times.
Sometimes, in this troubled world of ours, we forget that love is all around us. We imagine the worst of other people and withdraw into our own shells. But try this simple test: Stand still in any crowded place and watch the people around you. Within a very short time, you will begin to see love, and you will see it over and over and over. A young mother talking to her child, a couple laughing together as they walk by, an older man holding the door for a stranger—small signs of love are everywhere. The more you look, the more you will see. Love is literally everywhere. We are surrounded by love. [2]8
As Mary surrounds Elizabeth with love and the Spirit, we are called to respond in a similar way to the needs of others.
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