Celtic Advent - Day XVIII - December 2
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. Luke 1:39-56
My mother named me Elizabeth after our local church, St. Elizabeth of Portugal in thanksgiving for my birth, but also because St. Elizabeth was a strong woman who maintained her faith even in the face of a husband who could not be described as 'supportive'.
Elizabeth was a Spanish princess who was given in marriage to King Denis of Portugal at the age of 10. She was named for her cousin, Queen Elizabeth of Hungary, but was known in Spain and Portugal as Isabel.
My grandmother made special note of that and always called me "Isabel".
When she was queen of Portugal Elizabeth was known to have a devotion to a ministry to the poor and hungry. Her husband, however, was more committed to being a child of royalty and privilege than a child of God. (Denis and Elizabeth had two children but he reportedly had seven children with seven other women.)
There are many miraculous stories about Elizabeth but the one I love is the one where she was sneaking an apron full of bread to take to the poor and hungry. Her husband suddenly appeared in the courtyard and, knowing that he would not be pleased, Elizabeth prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary for help. The next she knew, the apron filled with bread became filled with roses.
The story goes that that particular miracle was the one that converted her husband from "a life of sin to a life of prayer". After he died, Elizabeth founded a Franciscan order of Poor Clare nuns through which she continued her vocation of tending to the poor.
Although my grandmother insisted that I was named after St. Elizabeth, my mother, however, insisted that she named me after Queen Elizabeth, a woman she greatly admired and had the additional benefit of asserting herself and her right to name her own child after whomever she pleased.
Turns out, there are several strong women named Elizabeth for me to claim as role models and patron saints.
My uncles insisted on calling me "Liz" after Elizabeth Taylor, which drove my mother right 'round the bend. Which, of course, was their point. It's been many years since she left this earth to dwell in Light Eternal but I can still hear her 'tone' with her brothers when she would say, "Her name is NOT 'Liz', it's EeeLizzzaBETH."
I've heard her 'tone' in my head when I've had to correct someone who assumes my name is 'Liz' and I've tried to gently and politely let them know that it's Elizabeth, thank you.
It has always been a puzzle to me that no one in my family ever talked about Mary's cousin, Elizabeth. Not even my grandmother, who did love to tell the story of The Visitation, but the focus of the story was always Mary. Elizabeth only seemed to be doing what was expected of her - to support Mary in her pregnancy.
But, Elizabeth does so much more than that!
Elizabeth was the wife of a priest who was a descendant of the priestly line of Aaron and a "relative" of Mary. Unfortunately, she was unable to have children and had not passed this rich legacy to future generations.
Given her lineage and her compliance with cultural and religious expectations that had earned her the description of "righteous", her "barrenness" must have been a particular painful reality in her "old age".
However, it is Gabriel who brings the news that she has, at last, conceived a child. When Elizabeth learns of her pregnancy she immediately voices her faith in God as "the giver of life" and the one who changed disgrace into grace.
When Mary came to visit, it was Elizabeth who was the first to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. It was Elizabeth's voice that was raised as a prelude to Mary's, which foretold the role of her son John as the "forerunner" of the life and ministry of Mary's son, Jesus.
Elizabeth's personal agency and voice were in sharp contrast to her husband, Zechariah, who was struck silent by Gabriel "because you wouldn't believe and shall remain silent until the day when these things happen."
It is Elizabeth who also embodies the ministry of hospitality, welcoming her "relative" Mary who was outcast because she was pregnant not by her husband. She welcomed her. Provided sanctuary for her. Blessed her. Twice!
After receiving Elizabeth's blessings, Mary reportedly gave voice to the character and shape of this change: It would be a complete reversal of the status quo, a gospel revolution that would scatter the proud, bring down the powerful, lift up the lowly, send the rich away empty and fill the hungry with good things.
For tonight, let us consider the words of Elizabeth and the words they inspired in Mary:
"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!"
A modern interpretation of Mary's Magnificat
(Luke 1:47-55) from enfleshed:
My soul is alive with thoughts of God.
What a wonder, Their liberating works.
Though the world has been harsh to me,
God has shown me kindness,
seen my worth,
and called me to courage.
Surely, those who come after me will call me blessed.
Even when my heart weighs heavy with grief,
still, so does hope abide with me.
Holy is the One who makes it so.
From generation to generation,
Love’s Mercy is freely handed out;
None are beyond the borders of
God’s transforming compassion.
The power of God is revealed
among those who labor for justice.
They humble the arrogant.
They turn unjust thrones into dust.
Their Wisdom is revealed in
the lives and truths of those on the margins.
God is a feast for the hungry.
God is the great re-distributor of wealth and resources.
God is the ceasing of excessive and destructive production
that all the earth might rest.
Through exiles and enslavement,
famines and wars,
hurricanes and gun violence,
God is a companion in loss,
a deliverer from evil,
a lover whose touch restores.
This is the promise They made
to my ancestors,
to me,
to all the creatures and creations,
now and yet coming,
and in this promise,
I find my strength.
Come, Great Healer,
and be with us.
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