³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. ³⁶ What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. ³⁷ For the word of God will never fail.”

³⁸ Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

³⁹ A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town ⁴⁰ where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴² Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. ⁴³ Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? ⁴⁴ When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

⁴⁶ Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷     How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

Luke 1:35-47

Dear God, for the last few years, I’ve had an interesting relationship with this story. What interests me most is everything that happened from the end of verse 38 to the beginning of verse 40. Yes, I know that means verse 39, but more than that. It’s the “few days later” part. What were those days like for Mary? I imagine a lot of fear. Maybe even some buyer’s remorse. Did she second guess her decision to tell the angel yes? What was it like to go to sleep that night? Is that when she told Joseph. Did Joseph get his angel visit from Matthew 1:18-24 while she was with Elizabeth? It must have been a rough few days.

The angel told her about Elizabeth being pregnant, so she probably figured that would be the safest place for her to go. Maybe Elizabeth would understand. Maybe she was somehow in on this. I would imagine she practiced her speech the whole way there. She probably had it all worked out, but no idea how they would respond. Then there was the joy and wonder of it all. She was called to do something special. To be someone special in God’s plan for Israel. For the Messiah. What a mixture.

What happened when she walked into the room, I’m sure Elizabeth’s response was not what she expected to hear. She probably never expected that Elizabeth would prophecy over her and her baby before she even had a chance to say anything. What a relief!! She didn’t have to explain anything to Elizabeth and Zechariah. They just knew. Sure, she could tell them the story, but she never had to combat their disbelief. She just felt their love, but more than that. She felt your affirmation through Elizabeth’s spontaneous words. I’m sure that any doubts that had accumulated–that Satan had planted–over the previous few days went away immediately, and the result was a bursting of joy out of her mouth: “My soul proclaims the glory of the LORD…” How could she help but worship in that moment? It’s beautiful.

These are all of the thoughts I was having yesterday, but I never got to sit down and journal about them like I am doing now. But today is different. I experienced you in a much smaller but similar way this morning. I was really struggling this morning. I was feeling down. I was feeling some self-pity. I was feeling remorseful. I was feeling a lot of things. And then, out of the blue, something extraordinary happened. I’ve gone to the Catholic church with my wife since 2011 (nearly 13 years). I only occasionally go up for a blessing during the eucharist–usually when I am with our couples group at church. I normally just sit and pray while others go up to take the sacrament. Today was no exception. I was praying for a friend who is gravely ill. I was praying for my children and their significant others. I was praying for my wife. I was praying for myself, even. And then, at the end of the time, the priest came over to me while I was sitting on the front row (I sit there because my wife canters and I like to sit where she can sit with me during part of the service), and he gave me a blessing and a special word of encouragement. I would say that I don’t know why he did that, but I have to confess that about 10 seconds after he walked away, I felt like the Holy Spirit whispered to me that this moment was God, you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, speaking to me in a similar way (albeit much smaller) as Elizabeth spoke to Mary.

It also reminds me of Hagar in Genesis 16:7-13, when the angel appears to her and she changes her name for you to “the God who sees me.” In that moment this morning, I felt seen and encouraged by you.

Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you. Thank you for the priest this morning. I don’t know that he had any idea that my heart was struggling and burdened. But I know you did, and you gave him a prophetic word for me. Help me to carry that blessing and be worthy of it. Help me to be your ambassador in this world. The man you need me to be for my wife, my children, my friends, my coworkers, and the rest of the community. And please have mercy on Israelis and Palestinians who are locked in battle, and those who are innocent bystanders and suffering. Please break this cycle of hatred and retribution. Break the war in Ukraine. Please use this pain to bring about a special love of you. In fact, even that prayer seems feeble. I don’t really know how to pray for any of it. But Holy Spirit, please pray what the Father needs to hear. You know our hearts. May your kingdom come into this world, and your will be done throughout the world through your body, and even through those who do not call on you. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

I pray all of this through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, my intermediary to the Father,

Amen