The Visitation
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”
Luke 1:42
Such a day of small things still, but on God’s terms, and that is enough. Size as well as time and space count nothing with Him. (1 January 1902)
Scripture: Luke 1:39-45; 1:56
- What did Mary do after the angel left her?
- What was Elizabeth’s inner response to Mary’s greeting?
- What was Elizabeth’s outward response to Mary?
Meditation on Scripture
What a wonderfully natural response to the news of her pregnancy: Mary rushes off to Elizabeth who was in her sixth of pregnancy. Try to imagine the three months these two pregnant women spent together leading up to the birth of Elizabeth’s baby John. They must have compared notes of their pregnancies, the older woman instructing and encouraging the younger. They must have prepared the layettes for their babies, talking together as they sewed, going over again and again the details of their respective experiences: Zechariah’s encounter with an angel in the temple; the same Gabriel’s announcement to Mary!
Imagine their excitement as the days grew closer and closer to Elizabeth’s delivery. Mary must have been feeling the first stirrings of life as Elizabeth felt the first contractions of labor.
Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months the Scriptures say – until Elizabeth delivered, no doubt – and then she returned home. Mary’s anticipation of her coming birth must have been heightened by the feel of a newborn in her arms. Her spirit must have been strengthened and her course of action determined by the many hours of sharing with Elizabeth.
She returned home to face the challenges of an embarrassed Joseph and a skeptical small town. But she returned home with a heart full of joy – and great expectations!
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