A Reflection for Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Find today’s readings here.
"Mary set out in those days
and travelled 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."
This account from Luke's Gospel may seem a little far-fetched. And as a teacher of Catholic theology I often tell my students that we must take care not to take everything in Scripture literally. However, in this case, I think the story may have happened just as Luke tells it.
Mary, carrying Jesus, travels to a remote village to spend some time with her elderly cousin, Elizabeth, herself pregnant with John who will become the Baptizer. At the sound of Mary's voice, John leaps for joy. At first blush the incident seems unlikely. Well, consider this.
I am the father of three sons. When my wife Grace was expecting with each, I recall coming home from a long day, rubbing her pregnant belly and softly speaking to our unborn children. Every one of them responded by kicking and poking and moving around visibly. I was dumbstruck with joy. Is it any wonder then, that John, upon hearing Mary's voice, knowing that his cousin and savior was near, would react in similar fashion? Oh, what glorious futures lay before them!
I am certain other parents have experienced the same reaction during their own pregnancies. Research suggests our children learn to recognize our voices before we ever meet. They look forward to meeting us as much as we look forward to meeting them. Why would we be surprised then to hear that John jumped for joy, knowing Jesus had entered the room?
Advent is a time of joyous anticipation. We see it in the eyes of children. Kids will sometimes be giddy with excitement, just like John millenia ago. I can sense that anticipation in my own students as the semester draws to a close. They are antsy. They're hard to keep focused. They are jumping around in the classroom. How can we as adults keep alive that same hope and joy that Elizabeth experienced? Does the giddiness of our children and students have something to teach us about hope? About joyful hope?
For me—and this is something I try to impress on my high school theology students—the Incarnation matters. That God chose to become one of us, to be born on Christmas Day, really matters. If we take the Incarnation seriously, that has consequences for how we live our lives. The decisions we make. How we treat others. And so the season of Advent means so much more than shopping and decorating and baking. Those are important too. But let us not allow those activities to get in the way of what truly matters. We are preparing to commemorate welcoming Jesus into the world. That means our salvation. And if that isn't exciting, I don't know what is.
Jesus came to proclaim the reign of God. His message was that we should love our neighbors as ourselves and work together to make the world a better place for all. That Mary was of humble origins should not be lost on any of us. God chose her to bring us the King of Kings. That is what we should be looking forward to during Advent.
My prayer is that this Advent season brings us as much joy for the coming reign of God as it did to John, knowing that Jesus was near.
Get to know Eric Gregory
Favorite Advent Memory? This photo is of Grace and I visiting NYC at Christmas for the first time in 2019 and reconnecting with friends from America Media.
What is your favorite Advent/Christmas hymn? Gabriel's Message. Sting released a haunting version in 2009. For me the hymn answers the question: Did the Incarnation happen at Jesus' birth or when Mary said "yes."
