Luke 1: 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!"
Elizabeth has felt the child within her (John the Baptist) jump as Mary enters. Elizabeth herself is full of the Holy Spirit. Strange things have been the order of the day for Elizabeth. Her husband saw a vision in the temple, and he came home a mute. Although he is old and has never given birth, she is now pregnant. And then along comes Mary....
I recognize these words from the Catholic prayer "Hail Mary." The attachment of Catholics to Mary is strange to Protestants. We don't think much about her except during Advent and Christmas. She makes Jesus do his first miracle even after he says his time hasn't come. Jesus even seems to disrespect her when she and his brothers wait outside to see him-- "These are my brothers." Yet she is there at the crucifixion and the resurrection. Who is this woman, chosen of God?
Prayer: Lord, help me to clearly see how Jesus's earthly family, especially his mother, shaped his time on Earth. Help me to be a better mother to my own children and all of Yours. Guide me to be both blessed and a blessing to others.
Amen
Same verse in 2016, after the loss of my own mother.
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