Franciscan Friar Fr. Paul Gallagher reflects on the Gospel readings for the fourth Sunday of Advent. When you are told that a couple you know is expecting, what are some of the thoughts and feelings that rise within you?
The content is edited by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom and Joe Thiel. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel. To read or download the complete pdf with excerpts for your prayer, please click here: Franciscan Gospel Reflection December 22 2024 Excerpts are from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner. Photo: Permission granted by the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the heart of Bayview, Wisconsin icbayview.org
Luke 1:39-45
During 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.”
Background:
The Gospel for this Sunday follows immediately after Luke’s description of Mary accepting the invitation to be the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:26-38). Some have suggested that Mary went to visit Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist, in order to help Elizabeth. But Luke also states that Mary left Elizabeth before John was born. “Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home. When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child, she gave birth to a son.” (Luke 1:56-57) It seems that Mary left Elizabeth when she most needed assistance. It seems reasonable to believe that Mary had more than one reason for going to visit Elizabeth.
Luke only describes Mary as traveling to the hill country to visit Elizabeth. The details of the trip are left vague. This would seem to indicate that both the origin and destination of Mary’s journey were insignificant places and not important for his community to know. But what Luke’s community would notice is that Mary seems to be making the four-day journey alone. Women in this culture were always in the company of other women, children, and/or a male protector. For Mary, a fourteen-year-old girl, to travel alone would be enough to accuse her of being of shameful character. Yet the text calls Mary “blessed” three different times: for her unique role in God’s plan, and for her faith in God.
Reflection Questions:
- When you are told that a couple you know is expecting, what are some of the thoughts and feelings that rise within you?
- What does Luke’s inclusion that Mary went in haste say to you?
- The journey was probably about 100 miles, on foot or donkey. What do you think Mary thought about on that journey?
- Do you experience your hopes coming to fruition? Do you also experience your hopes being dashed? Elizabeth says that Mary was blessed for believing that what God had said to her was true. Does that say anything to you?
- Mary is a young woman, pregnant not by the man to whom she is betrothed. Elizabeth is long past the age for childbearing, and yet more than six months pregnant. Both women have good reason to be worried, yet they are presented to us as models of joyfulness. How does that speak to you?
- The power of the Holy Spirit is at work when the yet-unborn John the Baptist leaps in Elizabeth’s womb at the presence of the unborn Jesus. What does this say to you about where you might find the Holy Spirit working in your life?
- What do the world’s refugees say to you about people living with hope?
- Luke’s Gospel here focuses on Elizbeth’s greeting of Mary, but Mary stayed with Elizbeth about three months. What are some of things they might have talked about during that time?
- Both Mary and Elizabeth are women with irregular pregnancies who are insignificant figures in the religious and political world, yet they play central roles in our understanding of our faith history. Does that reality speak to you today?
- Can you talk to God now about how God used Mary and Elizabeth to bring God’s desire into the world, your own desire to be an instrument of God’s presence, or some other thought that this Gospel raised within you?
