Context No. 3880 of 4322 · Luke
Context · Reflection
Luke 1:39-45: in context
39Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”
Mary hurries to the hill country to visit her relative Elizabeth, and the moment she arrives and greets her, the baby in Elizabeth's womb, John the Baptist, leaps for joy, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cries out a blessing. She recognizes, by the Spirit, that Mary is carrying the Lord, and asks in wonder, why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
And then she names the heart of Mary's greatness: blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. What Elizabeth praises in Mary is not merely her role but her faith. Mary is blessed because she believed God's word and trusted that his promise to her would be fulfilled, even when it was staggering and hard to comprehend. There is a beatitude for all of us in Elizabeth's words. Blessedness comes to those who believe God's promises, who take him at his word and trust that what he has said will be fulfilled. Faith that simply believes what God has spoken is what Elizabeth calls blessed.
Do I share the faith Elizabeth calls blessed, believing that God will fulfill what he has spoken, taking him at his word even when his promises are hard to comprehend?
Sources
- Luke 1:45: "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"
- Luke 1:41: "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."
- Luke 1:43: "Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"