Monday, December 22, 2015 in the Fourth Week of Advent

Luke 1, 46-56

Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.”  Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.

The Blessed Virgin Mary learned of the pregnancy, already advanced, of her relative Elizabeth from the Angel Gabriel during the course of the Annunciation.  Gabriel mentions it as an example of how “no word shall be impossible with God” (Luke 1, 37). It is curious that he chooses to speak of Elizabeth’s pregnancy — great as it is — rather than some great event of the past as proof of God’s omnipotence. For instance, Gabriel could have spoken of the parting of the Red Sea, or of how God created the heavens and the earth. But he does not do this. Instead, he tells her of Elizabeth.

Nor did necessity press the Virgin into going into the hill country of Judea, outside Jerusalem. As the wife of a priest, many friends and relatives would have presumably flocked to her side to assist her.  And Mary had just received this unprecedented news of her own, that she, a Virgin, would conceive the Son of God by the Holy Spirit. But she who saw herself as the lowly handmaid of the Lord — who sat at her Master’s feet awaiting the slightest gesture of his hand to indicate some service for her — got up and proceeded “in haste” to her relative. The merest hint of some work her Master decided upon sent her into motion.

She undertook her journey to the house of Zechariah not as a burden to be borne but as a welcome opportunity to demonstrate her love for the Lord God, proving the truth of what St. Paul would write decades later: “The virgin thinks on the things of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7, 34). This is the same Handmaid who quietly assists with the wedding feast at Cana, preferring the company of the servants than of the other guests.

“Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home.” Since the Evangelist does not tell us, we can speculate as to whether Mary left before or after the birth of Elizabeth’s child. We should understand that Mary did have responsibilities back in Nazareth, first and foremost her own wedding feast, when Joseph would lead her to his house as his wife. But this need not preclude Mary from being present for the birth. In fact, one ancient writer says that she acted as the midwife, though this certainly did mot happen. We can surmise that she did stay for this happy event, and then practically unnoticed, she slipped back to her hometown, her work completed.