VISITATION OF MARY AND ELIZABETH
Luke 1:39-49
12-step Eucharist, June 3, 2026. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Little Rock
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is perhaps our best example of what happens when two people allow the Holy Spirit to intervene in their lives. Elizabeth, late in her third trimester, hears Mary, in her first trimester, greet her. We don’t know what Mary initially says to Elizabeth, but the baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, then greets Mary with these words: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."/ If only we had the courage to say that to each other as we meet. “Blessed are you among women; blessed are you among men.”
Mary then breaks into the song of praise and thanksgiving, known as the Magnificat. "My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant."/ If only we would remember to say every morning as we awaken, “My soul magnifies God.”
How wonderful when we meet our neighbor, if the child, the God, the resurrected Christ within us, could leap for joy to see the God, the Christ within our neighbor. What does this story tell us will happen in our lives and in our neighbors’ lives when this occurs? We will be filled with the Holy Spirit, and our neighbor will be empowered to live out a song of gratitude and praise.
This is one of our most descriptive passages about being and having a spiritual friend, a soul mate. As spiritual friends, we are called to see Christ, new life, in each other. Our friend's response may sometimes be as miraculous as the joy of the Magnificat. How do we see Christ, new life, in our neighbor? It is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Our job is to put ourselves in a position to receive this gift of the Holy Spirit, to see Christ in our neighbor, and then to honor Christ in our neighbor. The promise of this story is that when we reflect Christ, new life, back to our neighbor, she may also see Christ in herself and be enabled to live out the Magnificat.
What does it mean to "sing out the Magnificat"?
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior.” The words are clear. It means living a life of gratitude and remaining open to God working in our lives, even in our greatest times of stress. Our role model is an unmarried, pregnant young girl, empowered by the love of her older relative, who eloquently expresses her faith in God. Through the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth sees God in her young cousin. /When Mary is open to God within herself and can also see and feel God within herself, her response is this great hymn of gratitude and praise.
What a difference we could make in our own lives and in our neighbors’ lives if we each became an Elizabeth to the Marys we visit and live with daily, at home and at work. When, through the Holy Spirit, we see God, Christ, and new life in our neighbors, the God within us will also "leap for joy" as we continue to meet others/on this road to a happy destiny, one step, one person, one greeting at a time!
Joanna Seibert