Mercy for Mary

Luke 1:26-45

My friend's husband, an ER nurse, once had a patient who claimed to be God and another patient who claimed to be Satan come into the Emergency Department on the same night. We laugh at these people. But what happens to a person whose mission from God makes her look just as ridiculous? I try to imagine Mary explaining to her closest friends and family that not only was she still a virgin and pregnant but that her son would be the Messiah. The story must have made Mary feel a little crazy herself.

But here is where God's mercy stepped in for Mary. He didn't just let Mary know that she was going to be pregnant then let her struggle alone with the implications of this news. He sent her a friend in her barren-cousin-now-pregnant Elizabeth.

Luke says that Mary hurried to see Elizabeth (Luke 1:39).When Mary arrived at Elizabeth's home, she was not disappointed. Elizabeth greeted her with, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!" (Luke 1:42-45).

Elizabeth's confirmation of Gabriel's annunciation brought Mary much joy and peace. I believe it was then that she was able to fully celebrate the mysterious-wonder of being the mother to the Messiah. Elizabeth, as an older mentor-friend, would have also provided Mary with much wisdom and security. Then there was the simple gift of understanding that Elizabeth would have given Mary. I imagine the two of them staying up late under the Judean stars discussing and wondering over their roles as soon-to-be-mothers of the greatest men on earth. There would have been also a homely comfort for Mary in Elizabeth's presence. Who better to understand Mary's morning sickness? Who better to pull back her hair when she was throwing up and tell her that she would be okay?

I'm grateful for God's mercy to Mary in sending her Elizabeth. Mary's three months with Elizabeth must have held her through many storms. How Mary must have treasured her memories at Elizabeth and Zechariah's home as she fled to Egypt, as she struggled with the burden of raising the Messiah, as she worried for her son during his ministry, as her heart was pierced when he died. She had the memory of a friend to sustain her.

God asks of us sometimes the impossible. He gives us blessings and burdens that are beyond are capacity to handle. And often in the middle of impossible God sends us an Elizabeth. An Elizabeth to confirm our faith. An Elizabeth to give us courage. An Elizabeth to comfort us.