Gospel: Luke 1: 39-45
Prior to the angel visiting her, Mary had not known that her cousin Elizabeth was with child. Everyone in the family thought she had been barren, and yet now she is with child. It is a miraculous event. And now Mary has news of her own to share as well, news that others would find impossible to believe. But Elizabeth will believe, for she has experienced God's miraculous work in her life as well.
How often is it the case in our lives that we cannot always share news of different sorts with everyone in our lives because not all of them will understand or appreciate it. When we do try to share news with others who have not had such experiences in their life, we find they are not understanding or fail to believe what we say. We are disappointed and hurt by their response. So, we look for those in our lives who will understand, who do have similar experiences and can relate to what we are sharing.
Mary goes first to rejoice in Elizabeth's good fortune, and she shares her own with Elizabeth first, for only her cousin will understand and believe what Mary is saying. To belong to a tradition of faith is to have these experiences as part of our family story so that we might be understanding when God visits and touches the life of another and wants to share that experience with us. We have our own experiences, and a treasury of family stories that help us relate with others and rejoice with them at God's coming into their lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment