Gospel Reflection 20061224
God is waiting...The Christmas story is the climax of a tale that weaves in and out of life after life. The whole invitation of Advent is to remember, to see again the presence of God among us, here from the beginning.----------
A Journey of Faith and LoveDecember 24, 2006Fourth Sunday of Advent
Luke 1:39-45During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."
Saint Luke tells us, in the Gospel Reading today, that the Virgin Mary, when she learned that her cousin, Saint Elizabeth, was with child, immediately set out on the road to the mountains, to a town in Judah, so that she could visit with and take care of her cousin, who awaited, even though she was elderly, the birth of the last prophet who would come to this earth, John the Baptist. The Virgin was also with child, awaiting the birth of the Messiah, our Savior. Two major events brought about by these two extraordinary women.
Saint Elizabeth, when her cousin arrived, recognizing the gifts that Mary had received from the Holy Spirit, greeted her saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Grateful for Mary’s visit, she humbly said, “Who am I, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” This encounter, narrated by Saint Luke, shows us that the Virgin, in God’s eyes, was a privileged and very special person, contrary to what some people think when they say that the Virgin was not important in the history of humanity. It also reveals Mary’s faith, her courage and her care for others.
Our longing and our goal should be to obtain, with the help of the Most Blessed Virgin, the only truly important thing in our existence: encountering Christ and getting to know him well, just as he is. Our Most Beloved Mother, if we ask her to help us, will show us how to find the way to do this, so that our life can be lived honestly and generously, so that we can turn away from sin and turn our hearts towards Jesus. Mary will help us to get closer to her son, since she is the road over which we get to him.
The Gospel from Luke presents the scene of the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth during the pregnancy of each woman. Elizabeth’s child, John the Baptist, leaps in his mother’s womb when he hears Mary greet her relative. Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, praises Mary and refers to her as the mother of her “Lord”. And she praises Mary’s faith in the promise made to her by the “Lord”. The same word is used in the Greek for “Lord”. The first use, in which Elizabeth refers to Mary as the mother of her “Lord”, refers to Christ who is viewed by Elizabeth as her master. But the use of the same word, “Lord”, for God, suggests a special relation between Christ and God. Here, in the first appearance of Christ in Luke’s Gospel, He appears in a context which speaks of God and of the Holy Spirit. And Mary’s distinctive role is viewed as being the most blessed of all women because she is the mother of one who is blessed. Further, she is blessed because she believed in the promises made to her by God.
To bring joy to others this Christmas, we really have to bring them Christ. He is the greatest gift we could ever bring to someone we love — all the material goods in the world fall flat in comparison. Without sharing Jesus, we are not giving our loved ones anything that is truly lasting. Bring Christ and you bring everything.
posted by Mike Young @ 6:33 AM
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