Reflection on Luke 1:39-55

Luke 1:39-55]

39 In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42 and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44 For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

    46 And Mary said,

 “My soul magnifies the Lord,

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,  

48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. 

Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,  

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, 

and holy is his name;  

50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him 

from generation to generation.  

51 He has shown strength with his arm; 

he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  

52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones 

and lifted up the lowly;  

53 he has filled the hungry with good things 

and sent the rich away empty.  

54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel, 

in remembrance of his mercy,  

55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors, 

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Reflection

There are lots of things that I do not understand in this world.  For one, I do not understand how feeling a child moving around within ones womb can convince someone that the Messiah is very near.  How does feeling a baby jumping and thrashing around within her belly convince Elizabeth that the child within Mary’s belly is the Lord?  I do not understand.

Maybe, it is because I am a guy, and I have no idea what it is like to have a baby inside of me, pushing on by spine and bladder?  Maybe, I simply have no idea what it is to have such an intimate relationship with an unborn child? 

But, I do not need to have a womb or a child in my belly to trust what the Bible says.  And, it says that after the child leapt, “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” and it says that because she was filled with the Holy Spirit, she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Luke 1:41-42). 

That is the way of the Spirit.  Like the wind, it “blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8).  God’s Spirit does what it needs to do, and we are not here to understand, we are simply here to pay attention.  So, I will pay attention of Elizabeth.

Again, there are lots of things that I do not understand in the world.  Like, I do not understand why younger women need to go to the bathroom together.  What are they doing in there?  In the same vein, I do not understand why it was so essential for Mary to get to Elizabeth so fast in the first place.  The Bible says that she “went with haste” to greet Elizabeth (Luke 1:39).  It also specifically mentions that she went into the “hill country” to visit her.  One thing that I do know is that “hill country” is a reference to being on top of a cosmic mountain, where heaven and earth touch.  I do know that whatever is going down between these two women is viewed as really, really important by the Bible.  Apparently, this mutual support between two women was considered so holy and so vitally important that it got its own special “mountain of God” scene here in the Bible.  Are women supporting women really that important and that holy?  I do not understand.

Maybe, I just do not fully understand how vital it was for women to stand together in the male dominated world of the time?  Maybe, I still do not understand the vital importance for women to stick together and support one another today, even in the bathroom?

But, I do not have to have experienced one of these female relationships to trust that the Bible says that these sort of relationships are extremely holy (like, mountain top holy), and even vital to God’s purposes.

That is the way of the Spirit.  Like the wind, it “blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (John 3:8).  God’s Spirit does what it needs to do, and we are not here to understand, we are simply here to pay attention.  So, I will pay attention to the importance of these relationships.

Once again, there are lots of things that I do not understand in the world.  For instance, I do not understand why adults go on and on about the incompetence of the younger generation, but God chooses someone so young to carry out one of God’s greatest tasks.  In response to having been given the task to birth and raise the savior of the world, the young Mary exclaims, “for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant,” and then she continues to sing, “the Mighty One has done great things for me…” (Luke 1:48-49).

Nor, to I understand why so many people try to convince us that gaining success and power is what we should all strive for in life, when Mary sings that God, “has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts,” and that God “has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly” (Luke 1:51-52).

In the same way, I do not understand why so much importance in life is put on striving for wealth and getting things, and why rich people are always held up so high and listened to above all others when Mary sings that God “has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty” (Luke 1:53).

 

I do not understand a great many things about why we do what we do and why we trust who we trust, but what I do understand is that because we have everything so backwards; because we do make judgments about people, and do not pay attention to who the Spirit is choosing; and because we believe so much in our own independence that we dismiss the importance of close relationships and needing others; and because we look down on the young, the unimportant, and the poor (who are all God’s children too), we desperately need the savior in Mary’s belly to come to the “aid of his” people and remember us all in “his mercy” (Luke 1:54).

 

Only by Jesus’ mercy, is our up-side-down world made right-side-up again.  Only by the blowing of the Spirit where it chooses, is our backwards world turned to face the right way.  Only, by Jesus’ mercy are we turned around in our hearts and minds so that we too might be a part of the “great things” of the Lord (Luke 1:48).

 

Because, the Lord “has done great things” for Mary even though she was “lowly of state” (Luke 1:48-49).  The Lord likes to raise the lowly.  The Lord likes to choose the unlikely.  The Lord likes to use the mess up. 

 

So, maybe even we have a chance.  Maybe, this savior in Mary’s womb will be able to save even a mess up like me.  Maybe, this savior will choose someone even like me for some mysterious and vital purpose.  Maybe, we will even start singing a song of thanks and praise that will reverberate throughout the ages.  Who knows? 

 

After-all the Spirit blows where it wants.  Why would it not blow through an old Elizabeth, or a young and lowly Mary, or even someone like you?

 

“For the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (Luke 1:49).