In the Presence of the Greatest Mystery

Recently, three close friends of mine learned that they were pregnant.  Two were brides whom I had married the last year and a half.  The third was a lady who was working on a second set of children, having a sixteen and twelve year old and then a three year old and now a new baby coming. To me, and I certainly can be and often am wrong, but to me, there is nothing more exciting in the world than to hear that someone is pregnant. Sometimes I hear that someone is pregnant whom I haven't seen since their marriage.  Very often the woman wants me to see her before she delivers. She is excited that I see how wonderful she looks in her pregnancy.  Happily many women realize that they have a special beauty during their pregnancies.  The lady may be sick continually.  She may have many different types of difficulties, but she loves this transformation of her body with the evident presence of a baby. Babies are always exciting.  Every baby to be born is the first baby every born.  Every mother, whether young or with a surprise as child bearing years appear to be ending, every mother glows with the newness, the freshness of life.

The gospel for this Sunday presents the meeting of two expectant mothers.  One is a young newly wed girl, Mary.  The other is an older lady at the end of her child bearing years, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth is closer to her delivery time than Mary.  In fact, Mary, according to the story, is able to journey to the hill country to assist her cousin.  Sometimes I think that Elizabeth didn't really need Mary's help, she was the wife of a Temple priest and had plenty of aides, but that Mary wanted to see Elizabeth while Elizabeth was still pregnant, and wanted Elizabeth to see her during her pregnancy.

"The minute your greeting fell upon my ears the child within me leaped in my womb." This wasn't just the quickening, the early expression for the first feeling of the child in the mother.  This was an out and out dance.  A good kick. Ancient Church writers would say that not only Elizabeth, but John the Baptist within Elizabeth, recognized that they were in the presence of the Lord, within Mary.

The Church asks us to reflect upon this scene today. Two expectant mothers hug.  One is young, perhaps about sixteen, the other is quite a bit older, perhaps about 40.  They are bursting with excitement and expectation.  Their worlds are being transformed.  Each is expecting a baby.  Their lives will never be the same again.  Human life will never be the same again.  Our world is being transformed.  Elizabeth's baby, John the Baptist, will point to Mary's baby, the Christ of God, the one who will bring God's love to the world. The minute Elizabeth heard Mary's voice she realized that she was in the presence of a great mystery.

There is so much excitement in our world these days. Children are looking forward to Santa. Husbands and wives, parents and children, friends are looking at each other with that silly smirk that says, "I can't wait for you to open the gift I bought you."  The excitement and expectation is wonderful.  This excitement and expectation is just a small token of the excitement of expectation that gripped the world in the days immediately before the Savior's birth.  The prophets knew he was coming soon.  The people of Caesar Augustus' province of Judea, were expecting the Lord any day.  Mary and Elizabeth experienced his presence in the baby within the girl who was still a virgin. They were bursting with joy.  God's time was now. The baby was about to be born.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.  Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Instead of looking at this next week as just a few days left to get our Christmas tasks complete, we should consider this the ninth month of a pregnancy.  The world is pregnant with the coming Messiah.  Victims of violence, the poor, the outcasts, those who still have morals, those who want a strong value centered family, all these and more like them are expecting the transformation of the world into the Kingdom of God. They know this transformation is coming.  The world is pregnant with the excitement the new life it is about to receive. Like Mary and Elizabeth we need to enjoy the pregnancy. Through the grace of God, a child will soon be born and our world will never be the same again.  Through the grace of God we will never allow the world to be the same again as we each bring the presence of this child to our families, friends, workplace, schools and neighborhoods.

When we can do anything throughout our lives that brings the joy, peace and love of the Lord to our world, than we share in the excitement of Mary and Elizabeth at the coming birth of our Savior.  When we prepare to bring God's love to others, we are pregnant with the birth of the Savior whose presence will soon be manifested through us.

We need to slow down just a bit this week.  We need to take a moment to relax and reflect on the joy that we have brought to the world and can continue to bring to the world when we bear Christ's presence in our lives and deliver his love to others. Yes, we, like Mary and Elizabeth, are all pregnant.  We can all give birth to Jesus Christ in our worlds. We have only to allow him to reveal his presence through us.

Today we pray that we may have a fruitful Christmas throughout our lives.