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Readings: Luke 1:39-56
When I married my husband, I knew I would have to move. He was living and working south of my hometown. For the first time, I would be uprooting.
I lived in my hometown for nearly 30 years before I was married, and I knew logically I had habits and routines. I had friends I met with regularly, coffee shops I frequented, stores where workers knew me.
But it wasn’t until I moved away from home that I realized how important was the community I had formed. The safety of friends, family, and routine had always just been there. And I had taken it for granted.
Now, during a big, dramatic change, I found myself in a new city looking for community. And it wasn’t as easy to find as I had hoped.
In the wake of her own big, dramatic change, Mary also goes searching for community.
Not long after the angel visits her, she sets off to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Her otherworldly visitor had told her of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, and Mary knew few would better understand her new situation than her cousin.
Both women had seen their standing in society shift. Elizabeth, now childbearing, is no longer viewed as disgraced or cursed. Mary, however, risks having her reputation shattered.
After angelic visitations and miraculous pregnancies, neither woman is who she used to be.
I find Mary’s move toward Elizabeth both heartwarming and realistic. When something significant changes in my life, I pick up the phone to call my mom or a girlfriend. If there were phones in Mary’s day, I could imagine her calling Elizabeth, looking for advice.
Rather than move into isolation like Elizabeth, Mary presses into connection. I can envision Mary thinking to herself, “Elizabeth will have some remedies for morning sickness. She’ll know how I should tell Joseph about all that’s happened. She’s walked this road before – I know she can help.”
When faced with a tough challenge, Mary seeks out community. Together, the two women support one another, and Mary’s leaning into connection with Elizabeth blesses them both.
Upon Mary’s arrival, the Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth, and she feels John leap in her womb (v. 41). Surely this was confirmation to Elizabeth that her baby is remarkable, that the angel was right, and that the Messiah is coming.
We were not created to walk through life alone. God, a communal being (John 1:1), saw fit to give Adam a helper in Eve (Genesis 2:18). And there are people in our lives who have walked the same road we’re walking now.
Don’t be tempted to walk the hard paths alone. God has given us helpers, too, if only we have the courage to look for them.
Journal Prompt: Thank God for your community today. How is God providing for you within a community? If you’re feeling disconnected, are there ways you can reach out and start a connection?
