Fourth Sunday of Advent
I bring the Eucharist to several people who are housebound in the parish. I always consider it a great privilege to bring the Lord as Bread of Life to people of faith. Their response to being brought the Eucharist in their home is always one of gratitude and appreciation. Several of our ministers of the Eucharist bring the Lord to people in the parish in the same way, week in and week out. It is a special ministry and one which is deeply appreciated by those who ask for it.
In today’s gospel reading, Mary brings the Lord to Elizabeth. She does so in a very physical way. She is carrying the child Jesus in her womb. Elizabeth is very aware just how privileged she is to be receiving such a visit. She asks, ‘Why should I be honoured with a visit from the mother of my Lord?’ She recognizes Mary, her cousin, as the mother of the Lord, whom she is carrying in her womb. Elizabeth is also pregnant with the one who would become known as John the Baptist. Her unborn child also recognizes that the Lord is visiting through Mary. Elizabeth declares, ‘For the moment your greeting reached my ears, the child in my womb leapt for joy’. In bringing the Lord to Elizabeth, Mary brought joy both to Elizabeth and to the child in her womb. Mary shows us what is at the heart of our baptismal calling. Like her, we are all called to bring the Lord to one another and, in so doing so, to bring joy to others. It is not only Ministers of the Eucharist who bring the Lord to others, although they do so in a special way, bringing Jesus as the Bread of Life. We can all bring the Lord to others by the quality of our presence to them.
Mary’s visit to Elizabeth was an act of loving service. She visited her older cousin whom she knew to be pregnant. Even though Mary herself was pregnant, she set out on an arduous journey from Nazareth south to a town in the hill country of Judea. She wanted to be present to Elizabeth in a loving and supportive way. Whenever we are present to others in the same loving and supportive way, we are bringing the Lord to them. I see examples of that in the parish all the time. People visit elderly and housebound neighbours to make sure they have all they need. Adult children care for elderly parents, very often in their home. Spouses go on journeys to visit their loved one who may be in a nursing home. Just recently, when planning the funeral of an elderly man, his family were telling me that he used to visit his wife every day in the nursing home until the day she died. This quality of loving presence and service is to be found among us and it is something to be celebrated. The equivalent of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth is always happening among us.
At Christmas, we celebrate the greatest visitation of all, God visiting all of us through his Son, Jesus. In the first chapter of Luke’s gospel, jest after the birth of John the Baptist, his father, Zechariah, prayed a prayer of praise to God which began, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people’. Further into Luke’s gospel, after Jesus raised the widow’s son from the dead in the town of Nain, people glorified God, saying, ‘God has visited his people’. In the person of Jesus, God came to visit us in a unique way. Jesus revealed to the full God’s loving kindness towards all, especially towards those who were broken in body, mind or spirit. When we go on a journey to visit someone, we leave sooner or later. Luke tells us that Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned to her home. However, when God visited us through his Son, God stayed. God remained with us through his Son, now our risen Lord. The risen Lord visits us every day of our lives. In the words of the Book of Revelation, he stands at the door of our lives and knocks. According to today’s second reading, Jesus says to God, ‘God, here I am’. As risen Lord, he says to each one of us every day of our lives, ‘Here I am’. Even if we have not been very present to him in the past, he continues to say, ‘Here I am’. He continues to visit us, to seek us out. One of the ways he visits us is through those people who are present to us in the way that Mary was present to Elizabeth. Whenever any of us is present to someone in the way Mary was present to Elizabeth, God’s visitation of his people through Jesus takes flesh through us. The Word becomes flesh through us. So often, the risen Lord’s good work happens through the ordinary transaction of human contact and care.
Christmas day is only three days away. We will soon be exchanging presents. Today’s gospel reading reminds us that even more important than the presents we give and receive is the quality of our presence to one another. The way Mary and Elizabeth were present to each other can be an inspiration to us all this Christmas.