Leaping For Joy


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. 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 leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

This is a meeting of two moms, and what an extraordinary meeting it is. One, very advanced in years; the other, still a child. One, six months pregnant; the other, only just.  But what makes the meeting extraordinary is that both pregnancies are miraculous. Elizabeth conceives in her old age; Mary conceives by the Holy Spirit. And that fills both of them with joy. But this isn’t only a meeting of moms. It is also a meeting of baby boys. They would be called John and Jesus, and both would become very, very famous. 

Now when baby John hears his mother Elizabeth greet Mary, he does a little leap in her womb. It’s almost like he’s so excited to meet Jesus he jumps for joy! How could he know this? Well, I want you to recall the words of the Angel Gabriel to his father, Zechariah, when he told the man his wife would conceive and give birth to a son and he should call him John. Gabriel said, “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born” (Luke 1:15). And that little jump could also have been the Holy Spirit saying, “Hi!” to Jesus!

Now he isn’t the only one jumping with joy. Elizabeth is, too. And then she exclaims these words we are so familiar with: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” But listen to what she says next. “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” This speaks of so much humility. She is much, much older than the young girl who stands before her, but notice how she honors Mary, calling her the “mother of my Lord.” 

There is also something implied, but unsaid in the words of Elizabeth: “Why have you come to me? I should be the one coming to you. But thank you for coming.” There is also a profound truth to be found here: that God comes to us. It is he who seeks us, and he who finds us. It has been like this from the beginning of creation, when God went looking for Adam and Eve who tried to hide from him. God is seeking us out now. Let us not hide from him, or run from him, but let us be found.

And I promise you: we shall leap for joy too! 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/_GGoiyyIf5M






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