Most blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Most blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 23, 2018
Luke 1:39-45
The old and young come together next Sunday in a wonderful Gospel story we call, “The Visitation.” If we stop short of reaching into all of its mystery, we would think it is about two cousins surprised by God, bound together by a wonder greater than family. The one with the leaping womb is filled with the restlessness of God. The one who makes the journey is filled with a God seeks the barren. Surprised by life, they embrace to lead us deeper into this wonder. It is not about them: two women who visit. It is about God who visits His people. It is about a God who comes to embrace the barren, the old, and the hopeless. It is about God who surprises those who have given up; God who laughs at nature and does what we cannot imagine; God who fulfills the desires of those who rise above fear and doubt to risk what he asks of us. The Gospel we proclaim today and again later next week is the Good News of a promise kept, desire fulfilled, hope rewarded by a visit and an embrace. God is with us. God has come to stay with us. God is the reason for our joy, our laughter, and our song.
Fr. Tom Boyer