{"id":5360,"date":"2024-12-21T11:24:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T11:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/?p=5360"},"modified":"2025-01-27T15:07:54","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T15:07:54","slug":"commentary-on-the-4th-sunday-of-advent-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/commentary-on-the-4th-sunday-of-advent-c\/","title":{"rendered":"Commentary on the 4th Sunday of Advent (C) 22.12.2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2013 Luke 1: 39-45 \u2013 Mary visits Elizabeth<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Mary\u2019s Journey<\/strong><\/p>\n

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari\u2019ah and greeted Elizabeth.<\/em><\/p>\n

John the Baptist leaps in Womb<\/strong><\/p>\n

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit,<\/em><\/p>\n

Elizabeth\u2019s Greeting<\/strong><\/p>\n

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, \u201cBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.\u201d <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

EXPLANATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari\u2019ah and greeted Elizabeth.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn those days Mary arose<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The initiative in the visit is Mary\u2019s. She, mother of Jesus, represents the New Testament. Elizabeth represents the Old Testament. Her son John was the last prophet of the Old Testament. The visit represents the New Testament reaching out to the Old and giving it the significance of preparing for the coming of the Messiah\u2013Saviour. Just as Mary believed the word of God spoken by the archangel and experienced its fulfilment in her conception, the Old Testament was the word of God to be believed as a preparation for the New Testament which was fulfilled in Jesus.<\/p>\n

\u201cand went with haste into the hill country to a city of Judah<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The archangel spoke to Mary in Nazareth which is in Galilee in the north. Judah was the southern kingdom and a journey there in those days would have taken four days.<\/p>\n

This \u201ccity of Judah<\/em>\u201d is not named though tradition has linked it with Ain Karim, about four miles from Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

\u201cand she entered the house of Zechari\u2019ah and greeted Elizabeth<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Zechariah plays no part in this passage. He was silenced by the angel and that silence continued until John was born. The important characters on stage are the two unborn children with the mothers supplying the dialogue though the words of Mary are not recorded.<\/p>\n

41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb<\/em>\u201d \u2014 John \u201cleaping\u201d in his mother\u2019s womb recalls three scenes in the Old Testament:<\/p>\n

(i) Rebecca\u2019s twins are described as struggling in her womb. This was an indication of what they would do in later years (Gn. 25: 21\u201323). So also in this scene, John the Baptist dancing with joy before the ark which is Mary containing the Messiah, Christ, indicates his future role as prophet who announces the presence of Christ.<\/p>\n

(ii) The Ark of the Covenant, containing the presence of God, was brought to Jerusalem by King David (II Sam. 6: 1-15). Note these three similarities with the Visitation of Mary, a new Ark, containing the presence of God in her womb.<\/p>\n

(a) As the ark is brought to Jerusalem, King David is overcome with awe saying, \u201cHow can the ark of the Lord come to me?\u201d (II Sm. 6: 9). As Mary greets Elizabeth the latter exclaims, \u201cAnd why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?<\/em>\u201d (Lk. 1: 43).<\/p>\n

(b) The ark remains three months in the hill country near Jerusalem, bringing great blessings to the house of Obed\u2013edom. (II Sm. 6: 11). Mary remained three months with Elizabeth obviously filling her house with blessings of the Holy Spirit (Lk. 1: 56).<\/p>\n

(c) King David leaps for joy \u2014 dancing before the ark. (II Sm. 6: 13). John the Baptist \u201cleaped\u201d<\/em> for joy in his mother\u2019s womb.<\/p>\n

(iii) \u201cBehold our God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart<\/em>\u2026\u201d (Is. 35: 4\u20136). Dancing and joy are described as the reaction of the lame before the Messiah when he comes.<\/p>\n

When the angel told Zechariah that Elizabeth his wife would conceive he informed him that John, his promised son \u201cwill be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother\u2019s womb<\/em>\u201d (Lk. 1: 15). This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus entered the house of Zechariah. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in this case was that John the Baptist was cleansed from original sin at this moment. When Zechariah\u2019s speech was restored he praised God in the Benedictus<\/em> canticle where he began, \u201cBlessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people<\/em>\u201d, obviously a reference to John\u2019s and Elizabeth\u2019s redemption.<\/p>\n

St. John Chrysostom has written: \u201cSee how new and how wonderful this mystery is. He has not yet left the womb but he communicates by leaping; he is not yet allowed to cry out but he makes himself understood by his actions [\u2026]; he has not yet seen the light but he points out the Sun; he has not yet been born and he is keen to act as Precursor. The Lord is present, so he cannot contain himself or wait for nature to run its course: he wants to break out of the prison of his mother\u2019s womb and he makes sure he witnesses to the fact that the Saviour is about to come\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cand Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit<\/em>\u201d \u2014 By being filled with the Holy Spirit Elizabeth, now a prophetess, will interpret the events around her.<\/p>\n

42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, \u201cBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cand she exclaimed with a loud cry<\/em>\u201d \u2013 This is a figure of speech to indicate that she is prophesying, moved by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlessed are you among women<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Elizabeth says that Mary is particularly \u201cblessed<\/em>\u201d for two reasons: first, that the babe in her womb is divine (shown in the following words and in v. 43) and second, that she believed the promise of God given her by the Archangel (v. 45).<\/p>\n

\u201cand blessed is the fruit of your womb!<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Elizabeth, who had no prior knowledge that Mary had conceived, announces that Mary is blessed because she is pregnant (in verse 45 she will elaborate on this) and she is blessed because of whom the Babe is that she is carrying.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth uses the same words as the Archangel Gabriel to Mary to endorse that her speech is inspired by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

The Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em> gives a beautiful commentary on the Ave Maria<\/em> in nos. 2676\u20132677.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?<\/em>\u201d \u2014 The word \u201cLord<\/em>\u201d is a title for God (Lk. 1: 6, 9, 11, 16, 17, 25). When it refers to Jesus it is used as a title referring to him as resurrected (Lk. 2: 11; 7: 13; 10: 1; 11:39; 12: 42; 17: 6; 18: 6; 19: 8;, 31; 24: 3, 34). Elizabeth uses it as Mother of God.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmother of my Lord<\/em> [God]\u201d has given rise to two Catholic dogmas: first that Jesus is God and, second, that Mary is the mother of God. This second dogma was defined at the Council of Ephesus (431 A.D.). The Greek word used by the Council for this title was \u201cTheotokos\u201d, a not unfamiliar word in spiritual writings about Mary. See also Vatican II\u2019s Lumen Gentium<\/em> (53). This Marian dogma was the first of four defined dogmas concerning Mary. The other three are: Mary\u2019s Perpetual Virginity (Council of the Lateran, 649 A.D.); her Immaculate Conception (8 Dec 1854) and her Assumption (November 1st<\/sup>, 1950).<\/p>\n

\u201cFor behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Elizabeth recognises that it was Mary\u2019s greeting which caused her son in the womb to leap for joy. John\u2019s expressed joy and Elizabeth\u2019s words indicate the joy which was a reaction to the coming of the Messiah\u2013Saviour.<\/p>\n

45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Mary is praised for believing that God is faithful to his word: what he promises he will fulfil. Later when \u201ca woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, \u2018Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts that you sucked!\u2019 <\/em>[Jesus] said, \u2018Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!<\/em>\u2019\u201d (Lk. 11: 27\u201328). In this way he praised his mother more for being a believer who conformed to his will and accepted his invitation to be his mother rather than for being merely his mother.<\/p>\n

The Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em> teaches, \u201cThe Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that \u201cwith God nothing will be impossible<\/em>\u201d and so giving her assent: \u201cBehold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be<\/em> [done] to me according to your word<\/em>.\u201d Elizabeth greeted her: \u201cBlessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.<\/em>\u201d It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed (CCC<\/em>, 148).<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout her life and until her last ordeal when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary\u2019s faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfilment of God\u2019s word. And so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith\u201d (CCC<\/em>, 149).<\/p>\n

APPLICATION<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

1. The most important statement in this passage is that Jesus is divine<\/strong>. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed \u201cBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?\u201d <\/em>Mary is the \u201cmother of my Lord\u201d,<\/em> that is God. And she is carrying him in her womb. John the Baptist is introduced as the precursor who announces the presence of Jesus Christ the Messiah\u2013Saviour by leaping in his mother\u2019s womb. Both John and Elizabeth believed in the divinity of the Babe in Mary\u2019s womb.<\/p>\n

2. We are told four important facts about Mary.<\/p>\n

(i) She is Mother of God<\/strong>. She is the person closes to him ever. No one could be closer than his mother. When we pray the \u201cAve Maria<\/em>\u201d or \u201cHail Mary<\/em>\u201d we recite these words of Sacred Scripture to rejoice with Mary at her dignity as Mother of God, we thank God for giving us Jesus through Mary and we thank him for her faith by which she accepted his offer to become his mother.<\/p>\n

(ii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elizabeth praises Mary for her faith<\/strong>. Being a woman of faith and obeying God\u2019s word is more important than being the Mother of God. Jesus himself praised her for her faith and he it is who told us that her faith was more important than her motherhood.<\/p>\n

(iii)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mary is the model of being a missionary<\/strong>. This does not mean going overseas to share the faith with those who have never heard of Jesus but of doing one\u2019s best, even at great inconvenience, to share Jesus with others as Mary did by going to visit her cousin Elizabeth. And she brought them salvation as they were filled with the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Some time ago Pope Benedict XVI said \u201cThe young Mary, who carried Jesus in her womb and, forgetting herself, goes to help her neighbour, is a stupendous icon of the Church in the perennial youth of the Spirit, of the missionary Church of the Incarnate Word, called to bring [this Word] to the world and to testify to him especially in the service of charity\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Second Vatican Council has taught that \u201cThis union of the Mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ\u2019s virginal conception up to His death; first when Mary, arising in haste to go to visit Elizabeth, is greeted by her as blessed because of her belief in the promise of salvation and the Precursor leaps with joy in the womb of his mother [\u2026]. The Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross, where she stood, in keeping with the Divine Plan, enduring with her only\u2013begotten Son the intensity of His suffering, associating herself with His sacrifice in his mother\u2019s heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this Victim which was born of her\u201d (Lumen Gentium<\/em>, 57).<\/p>\n

(iv)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Elizabeth praises and thanks God for the gift of Jesus<\/strong>, as Mary does in the following verses which record her Magnificat<\/em>. Christmas, as previous Sundays have taught, is a time for repentance. This Sunday tells us that it is also a time for adoration of the divine Babe born for us and our salvation. It is also a time for thanksgiving. Elizabeth and Mary have given the example; let us follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TEXT \u2013 Luke 1: 39-45 \u2013 Mary visits Elizabeth Mary\u2019s Journey 39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechari\u2019ah and greeted Elizabeth. John the Baptist leaps in Womb 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5360"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8327,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5360\/revisions\/8327"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.stmarys-tallaght.ie\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}