Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth

(May 31)

Loving Help

‘In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judaean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.’ Luke 1.39-40

Mother-talk

Mary and Elizabeth were neither the first nor the last expectant mothers to get together to share their joys and hopes. There is something very precious about being the holder of a growing life – and the two women, though years apart in age, would have much to share. But primarily they would share the wonderful ways in which God was working in their lives: two women, two miracles, two babies. Elizabeth was well past child-bearing age, while Mary was a virgin. Both boys, as yet unborn, had already been named by the angels. And both (though their mothers did not as yet know this) would grow up to be known the world over.

As Mary greeted her cousin, Elizabeth felt John spring for joy in her womb. What an opening to the visit! And Mary stayed for three months, until John was born – by which time her own pregnancy would be well advanced. The extra pair of hands, as well as the companionship, would be valuable to Elizabeth, and Mary would see at first hand what an exciting time were the last three months of pregnancy.

Sharing joy

We are sometimes much more ready to share our sorrows than our joys. It has been said that one tells one’s friends a sorrow, but only one’s best friend a joy. What a shame to be so chary of spreading good news!

Since the angel had told Mary about Elizabeth’s condition, the inference is that the older woman had not then told Mary. Was Elizabeth nervous that it could be a dream, a ‘phantom pregnancy’? Was she afraid that people would laugh, or sneer, at her, claiming pregnancy at her age? Mary’s visit, acknowledged at the outset by the unborn John, would do much to give Elizabeth confidence. And Mary stayed to give her all the help she could, which tells us a lot about the woman whom God had chosen to be the mother of his Son.

Motherhood

The mission of motherhood has altered relatively little, although, in the so-called sophisticated West, births can be more traumatic than in far less affluent countries. Expectant mothers today may be hedged around with medical and social services; but these are no excuse for not visiting with the carriers of new life. The sheer tension of waiting and expecting can make nine months seem much longer. Every mother will empathize with Mary’s state and feelings by the time she came to the night of Jesus’ birth; yet, but for her time spent with Elizabeth, it could have been even more traumatic.

Ministry to the expectant

Every Christian, in a way, is expectant – of glory, of seeing Jesus, of moving on in eternity to greater things – and Bible groups, worship and praise are no doubt already geared for this. But how, as a parish, do we witness and minister to our expectant mums?

Today, with its special focus, is also a good time to focus on mums – not half a world away, but on the home front.

Suggested hymns

Angelus ad virginem; For Mary, mother of the Lord; Maiden, yet a mother (WH); O Mother blest, whom God bestows (WH). (WH Westminster Hymnal)