4th Sunday of Advent C
Readings: Micah 5:1‑4 Hebrews 10:5‑10 Luke 1:39‑45
In this Sunday's Gospel, Luke's Visitation scene present us with the two expectant mothers who have indispensable roles in the history of salvation: Mary, "who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled," and Elizabeth, who is moved by the Holy Spirit to praise both Mary and her “Lord” (Jesus) who will be the fruit of Mary's womb. Let us share these women's joyful expectation as we sing today's responsorial psalm: "Lord, make us turn to you,/let us see your face and we shall be saved" (Ps 80).
Micah's prophecy of the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem‑Ephrathah emphasizes both the unlikely birthplace and its continuity with the ancient promises connected with David's line. Although Bethlehem‑Ephrathah is "too small to be among the clans of Judah," it is the ancient home of David, the shepherd boy whom God raised up to be "king after his own heart" (1 Samuel 16). In a time when the mighty Assyrian Empire had already destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel and was in the process of devastating the southern kingdom of Judah, Micah announces in the Lord's name that again from little Bethlehem "shall come forth for me/ one who is to be ruler in Israel." Unlike David and the subsequent kings of Judah who often fell into sin, the Messiah will be the ideal shepherd who will act with the Lord's own strength. “He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock/ by the strength of the Lord,/ in the majestic name of the Lord, his God/. . . .
His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth;/ he shall be peace.”
In the midst of the joy of Advent, the second reading is a sober reminder that Jesus' coming into the world involved his obedient submission to God's will, even to offering his "body" for our sanctification. According to Hebrews, Jesus' life exemplifies the words of Psalm 40:7‑9. “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,/ but a body you have prepared for me./ Holocausts and sin offering you took no delight in./ Then I have said, ‘as is written of me in the book,/ I have come to do your will, O God.’” In contrast to the various animal and grain sacrifices of the first covenant, Jesus' doing of God's will by offering his body has established the new covenant by which we are now sanctified.
Mary's obedience to God's plan in Luke's Visitation scene mirrors Jesus' in the reading from Hebrews. In Luke's Annunciation scene (Lk 1:26‑38), a doubtful Mary receives word from the angel Gabriel of Elizabeth's conception in her old age to confirm that “nothing is impossible for God” (Lk 1:37). This sign led Mary to accept Gabriel's announcement that she would bear “the Son of God” by the power of the Holy Spirit. After hearing of Elizabeth's conception, Mary proclaims: “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord;/ may it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1:38).
Now in the Visitation Luke brings together the two expectant mothers so that they may praise the God who is acting through them to bring salvation to the world. When Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, the Holy Spirit moves her to praise Mary as “blessed . . . among women” because she is bearing the Messiah. John, the precursor of the Messiah, leaps in her womb and thereby indicates that he recognizes Jesus as his Lord. Elizabeth then goes on to praise Mary, like Jael and Judith, two other Jewish heroines who were God's agents for saving their people (see Judg 5:24 and Jdt 13:18). “Blessed is she who trusted that the Lord's words to her would be fulfilled” (Lk 1:45).
As we await the feast of Jesus' birth, may Mary's trustful obedience and Elizabeth's responsive joy be our guides.
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