The Church celebrates Mary’s visit to Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-45) on the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
When the Archangel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was chosen from God to bear His Son, he also told her that her aged, kinswoman Elizabeth was in her sixth month of pregnancy.
Mary made plans immediately to visit Elizabeth and help her in her time of need. I imagine that Mary did not go alone but that she and her family journeyed together to see what God had done for Zechariah and Elizabeth.
Upon their arrival and at the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and her infant, John, leaped in her womb.
In a loud voice, Elizabeth responded by declaring that Mary is blessed among women and that the fruit of her womb was also blessed.
The New Testament meeting between Elizabeth, her unborn son John, Mary, and her Son, recently conceived by the Holy Spirit was prefigured in the Old Testament about 1,000 years before. This can be found in 2 Samuel 6.
When David had become king of Israel, he wanted to bring the neglected Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and restore active worship of the LORD.
He assembled 30,000 hand-picked men as well as musicians for this joyful moment. As the music played, David danced ‘with all his might’ before the LORD present with the Ark of the Covenant.
In the New Testament, the unborn John danced before the LORD which is Jesus (the New Covenant) held within the New Ark (Mary).
Back to David: while the ark was en route, it began to totter. One of the guides, Uzzah, stretched out his hand to steady it. No one, however, was to touch the ark; therefore, he was struck dead instantly by God.
In his fear, David cried out, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9).
In the New Testament, Elizabeth, in awe, asked a similar question, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my LORD should come to me?” (Luke 1:43)
We return to David; out of anger, fear, and sadness, David decided not to bring the ark to Jerusalem and instead deposited it at the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark remained there for three months and “the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household” (2 Samuel 6:10-11).
When David heard that Obed-edom had been blessed by the visit of the ark, he decided once again to bring it to Jerusalem. This time, the journey was successful.
Like the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament at Obed-edom’s home, Mary remained at Elizabeth’s home for three months.
We can only imagine how the New Ark of the Covenant (Mary and Jesus) blessed Zechariah and Elizabeth and their household!
