Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to visit with her cousin Elizabeth. After the angel Gabriel had departed, Mary must have buried her face into her hands even as she tried to come to terms with everything the angel had said. Every word the angel uttered must have sounded surreal as she replayed the conversation over n over again in her head. Was it true that she was going to be the mother of the Savior? Had the Lord really chosen her for such a special role? If the Lord had willed it, then it was true. It was the Lord’s doing. Even if in her own eyes she was unworthy, the Lord had elevated her to a pedestal and made her worthy. Wasn’t the Lord known to make a way even where there seems to be no way? (cf. Isaiah 43: 16-19)
It did not take long for Mary to assume her new role as a vehicle of God’s grace. The news about her kinswoman Elizabeth conceiving a child against all odds excited her. She felt in her being that she had to go and share in Elizabeth’s joy. When Mary arrived at the house of Zechariah, Elizabeth, somehow having known about Mary’s new status, greeted her with the title ‘blessed.’ But unlike her reaction when the angel Gabriel had used a similar phrase to greet her (the Lord is with you), Mary allowed Elizabeth to regale her. According to Elizabeth, Mary was blessed because ‘she had believed that what was spoken to her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ While it might be obvious that Elizabeth was referring to Mary having said YES to the Lord (I am your handmaid, may it be done to me according to your will), perhaps it can also be that Elizabeth was referring to Mary having believed what the angel had told her about her cousin (Mary travelled the hill country, not in order to see if what the angel had said was true, but to congratulate Elizabeth and to care for her).
When Mary heard about the Lord’s favor coming upon her cousin Elizabeth, she set out in haste in order to go and be with her. For a while, she forgot about herself. She forgot about her own safety as she traversed the hilly countryside on her own in order to go and share in the joy of her cousin. She had to see her in the flesh and congratulate her. She was happy for her. Although Mary knew that her cousin Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah were well beyond child-bearing years, she also knew that nothing was impossible for God. And she believed in what the Lord had relayed to her through the angel. She believed that the Lord had visited Elizabeth to take away her shame. It is such openness to the Lord’s word that makes Mary blessed among men and women. It is having such trusting faith in the Lord that raised Mary above the rest of creation and put her on a pedestal. She not only believed in the Lord favoring another person, but she was also able to share in somebody else’s joy.
As we get closer to celebrating the birth of our Savior, may we pray for the grace to become bearers of God’s blessings as Mary did. May we be graced enough to overcome the temptation of wanting to keep for ourselves the Christ who will be born in our hearts and instead share him with the world.