God of Elizabeth
"At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!'" (Luke 1:39-45 NIV)
"Blessed are you among women."
Five words. A single handful.
How much good can one half of a sentence do? How much difference can five words make? Can they really turn sorrow into joy, fear into hope, doubt into certainty?
The biblical Elizabeth is resounding proof they can.
Mary, God's chosen vessel for bringing His Son into the world in the flesh, must have been cloaked in every first emotion in the pairings above as she "hurried" to her cousin Elizabeth's house: sorrow, fear, doubt. She may not have been afraid that her life was literally about to end—even though death by stoning would have been the usual punishment for someone in her condition and situation; after all, God's angel had told her she would give birth to a son. But she must certainly have understood that her life as she had previously known it had already ended. I'm not sure she felt so much blessed as burdened at that point.
Carrying this load on her teenage shoulders, she walked into Zechariah's house and heard the greeting that still echos throughout history: "Blessed are you among women!"
Can you imagine it?
Such reassurance. Such confirmation. The Holy Spirit speaking using Elizabeth's voice. Five words of divine encouragement. No wonder Mary burst into song after she heard them.
Such reassurance. Such confirmation. The Holy Spirit speaking using Elizabeth's voice. Five words of divine encouragement. No wonder Mary burst into song after she heard them.
"My soul praises the LORD and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior...for the Mighty One has done great things for me" (Luke 1:46, 47, 49).
Author and former Franciscan priest Brennan Manning wrote that "in every encounter, we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange."
There was nothing neutral about Mary and Elizabeth's exchange at this hinge moment in history. By her words, Elizabeth gave life.
I want to be like Elizabeth, and not just because I share her name. I want God to be able to trust me enough to give me words to speak that will give life...words that will make someone sing.
* * * * * *
God, show me who in my life needs to hear that they are blessed by You today, that there might be a fresh round of leaping for joy.
Author and former Franciscan priest Brennan Manning wrote that "in every encounter, we either give life or we drain it; there is no neutral exchange."
There was nothing neutral about Mary and Elizabeth's exchange at this hinge moment in history. By her words, Elizabeth gave life.
I want to be like Elizabeth, and not just because I share her name. I want God to be able to trust me enough to give me words to speak that will give life...words that will make someone sing.
* * * * * *
God, show me who in my life needs to hear that they are blessed by You today, that there might be a fresh round of leaping for joy.
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!