Elizabeth

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Scripture

Micah 5:2-5a; Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 80:1-7; Hebrews 10:5-10; Luke 1:39-45

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Prayer

Shepherd of Israel, you gently support the one who is with child and call forth the Lamb who dances in the womb, Stir our hearts to recognize Christ’s coming, as Elizabeth recognized his presence in Mary’s radiant obedience to your desire, an open our souls to receive the one who came to love your flock. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)

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Reflection

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord” (Luke 1:39-45).

In the quiet hills of Judea,
a life unfolds in whispers,
an age-worn prayer finds voice.
Hands calloused from years of waiting
clutch a promise too radiant to grasp.

She, barren no more,
stands as a vessel of ancient hope.
Her laughter, once tinged with sorrow,
now ripples like sunlight through olive groves,
carrying the rhythm of a miracle.

Elizabeth, daughter of faith,
kinswoman of grace,
her soul stretched wide to cradle the forerunner.
Her womb, a sanctuary for the one who would cry,
"Prepare the way!"

In her, the shadow of doubt dissolves,
the sting of shame undone.
She becomes a melody of joy,
a psalm of life unfurled in secret places.

When Mary comes,
bearing the Word made flesh,
Elizabeth’s spirit leaps
like her child within.
Prophet meets Savior,
hidden in the tender folds of expectancy.

Blessed is she who believed,
who bore her waiting like an offering,
whose years of silence sang the loudest.
Elizabeth, mother of the Baptist,
her name etched in eternity,
a heritage of unwavering hope.

PRAYER: Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer)

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