Luke 1. 39-45
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 leapt 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. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.’
Being raised in a family where
alcohol and drugs were part of my childhood, I grew up fearful. It is said that it isn’t so much what happens
to us as how we respond to those circumstances. I was not responding in a healthy way.
Mary had her own set of
circumstances that brought fear – risking being stoned must have been high on
that list. She risked having her pregnancy exposed by Joseph and being a
disgrace to her family. In that fear she went to someone that might possibly
understand. God had understood those fears and brought her to Elizabeth to be
blessed and encouraged.
I don’t know what those words
must have meant to Mary, but what a relief they must have been and what hope
Elizabeth offered. Mary had accepted what the angel Gabriel had told her
despite her fears. Trusting that God could take care of any circumstances that
would arise as a result of her choice must have been part of her willingness to
accept such a profound message from the angel Gabriel. Adam Hamilton states
that Elizabeth helped Mary see her situation through the eyes of faith – to
recognize blessing where others would have seen only burden.
I was blessed with Elizabeths
in my life also. Even though I was a Christian, I couldn’t accept myself and my
circumstances to believe that I could begin responding differently. My
responses were human and understandable. God understood my fears but knew I
could live beyond those negative responses. He began to put Elizabeths in my
life. They extended to me love and support, encouraging me of God’s love and
acceptance of me. I would learn I had a choice of how I could respond to my
life. Would I be bitter or better? Would I be willing to allow Christ to
transform me?
I now work as a volunteer at
CCS, have facilitated with those that have either mental illness themselves or
in their families, and with those that have family or friends incarcerated. I
guess you would call these “fringe people”. Yet even Mary, being from Nazareth,
would have been called that too – can anything good come out of Nazareth? I
would not have the compassion and understanding I do without all those
circumstances that I once considered burden. Some of my circumstances didn’t
change; His miracle was changing my heart.
My prayer is that we will all
be Elizabeth to someone today. There are many people in our lives that a card,
phone call, smile or word can bring hope in the midst of their lives. A kind
word to someone we don’t know can bring results we will never see.
Maybe, however, we need to
allow an Elizabeth in our life to minister to us. Mary made a choice to reach
out for help. It can be easier to be Elizabeth giving the comfort than Mary and
going to others when it is us in need.
God’s word doesn’t tell us
all the details we would love to know in the story of the birth of Christ, but
I believe we have been given examples of how in this Advent season we can bring
ourselves to Him that He can bring changes in our lives also.
Carolyn Quillen, CCS volunteer, Journey Sunday school class member and leader
