Skip to main content

Mary and Elizabeth


In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (NRSV Luke 1:39-45)

One of my favorite places in Israel is Ein Karem situated on the outskirts of Jerusalem and the Church of the Visitation. Tradition has it that it is the place where Mary and Elizabeth had their famous encounter; two women because of age and circumstances should not have been pregnant, yet they were. Mary, the Virgin and Elizabeth, the barren woman encountered each other and knew, and the babies leapt. When I visited Ein Karem my daughter had just announced her third pregnancy and I felt so close to her at the Church of the Visitation.
This year, in our liturgical cycle we will miss the encounter, but know that it was the remarkable follow-on to the Virgin’s encounter. The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (NRSV Luke 1:30-38)
Peace and blessing,                
                                                Jon + 
Location: Ein Karem, Jerusalem, Israel

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Basin and Bowl

So often we see the cross as the core imagery of Christianity; in the Episcopal Church we often use a crest and shield as a symbol of our denomination. The executioners cross and the shield are images of imperialism, one of Rome and the other of the English crown.  I offer that the picture painted by Professor Osvaldo Vena, New Testament Professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and published at workingpreacher.com is one that truly resonates with me. The image he paints of basin and towel rest easy in my heart; the elements used by Jesus to wash the feet of those he loved should be the imagery of our denomination and not the marks of imperialism.
Post a Comment
Read more
John the Baptist was locked up under Herod’s palace. It was not the massive European palace of the middle ages with tens of rooms and a view over a flowing river. It was smallish, stone and mud and fit well into the hillside along Jerusalem. The story goes that John was held in the jail under the palace. John was cared for by his disciples; those who hung on his every word. Many of whom probably thought John was the Messiah, the one who is to come. John sent his disciples to Jesus with one question. Are you the one? Are you, if you will, the one who was to save Israel, from itself? Jesus sent the disciples back, not by sending back with a simple yes, because that might have been questioned. Jesus said, Matthew 11:4-5 continues the dialogue “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” To me it is simple. Jesus could very well of sai...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Eagles Fight Song

Post a Comment
Read more