In this week of the birth of Jesus Christ our Savior, prophet Micah tells us that he shall come from Bethlehem, “When she who is to give birth has borne,… he shall stand firm and shepherd us his flock. He will rely on the strength of the Lord God. His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth and he shall be peace.” In the letter to the Hebrews, we are told that Jesus Christ is coming to offer the precious sacrifice of his body once and for all, for our sins, not like the sacrifices of old that were done many times over. He is coming to do the will of God and consecrate us. The author of the letter to the Hebrews declared in reference to Christ Jesus, “… behold, I come to do your will.” As we draw our Advent journey to a close in two days’ time, we are invited to recommit ourselves to doing the will of God our father like Jesus Christ. The holy will of God is founded in his only Son, the living Word, sacred Scripture, the Ten Commandments and the sacred teaching and tradition of the church founded on the Apostles, the body of Christ. It’s a deeper interpretation of the statement, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings you neither desired nor delighted in.” These are offered according to the law. Sometimes we go to Confession but go away without making effort to use the power of the grace given to us during that divine encounter. We say oh it does not matter I can always go to Confession. That is not the right attitude to have in relation to this Sacrament of renewal. It’s expected rather that one should do everything possible to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to resist and to fight the spiritual battle against evil, sin or disobedience. Like Jesus, we should always say in the face of temptation, “BEHOLD, I COME TO DO YOUR WILL O GOD.” In the gospel we read about Mary who went in haste to visit her relative, Elizabeth. In this visit of our mother Mary to Elizabeth, we can learn 3 spiritual lessons.
She went in haste: This is how faithful servants and saints respond to their mission or carry out their message when sent by the Lord. We must have this sense of urgency when God calls us and sends us on a mission.
Her visit brought the Holy Spirit to fill Elizabeth. As a person she was filled with the Holy Spirit during the Annunciation. The Holy Spirit led her to visit and share this divine gift with Elizabeth and the child in her womb who lept for joy. Mary’s visit brought joy to the family.
Mary visited Elizabeth in order to serve her even though as Elizabeth said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. How does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth recognized the greatness of Mary who came to help and serve her; a demonstration/sign of her humility and docility to the anointing and fidelity of the leadership, authority and direction of the Spirit, who is always received for active service of God and our brothers and sisters.
(Luke 4:18). Mary, through her visit to Elizabeth, teaches us to be generous with our gifts and to appreciate the significance and value of humble service to members of our family, our faith community, our neighbors and the society and world that we live in.