Fourth Sunday of Advent: Reflection by sr. Gabriela Zengarini, OP

On this Fourth Sunday of Advent, prior to the great celebration of Christmas, Luke brings us through two women, Mary and Elizabeth, a Gospel text about joy, a full and deep joy. Let us try to understand how and why.

In the Greco-Roman world, it was not usual to highlight the role of women in social life. By devoting so much attention to Mary and Elizabeth, the evangelist prophetically announces Jesus’ special predilection for the poor, the marginalized and the oppressed, including women (cf. 7:36-50; 8:1-3; 10:38-42; 11:27-28,31; 15:8-10; 18:1-8).

The meeting of the two children in the womb of their mothers takes place in an atmosphere of intense messianic joy. John leaps with joy even before he is born; Elizabeth, enlightened in a mysterious way about the messianic maternity of Mary, declares her happy for having believed in the Word of God, and, filled with the Holy Spirit, overflows with joy for the visit of the one who is blessed among all women. Jesus is not the subject of any verb, but Elizabeth calls him my Lord and it is he who really occupies the center of the scene.

Luke presents Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a believing, free woman. At the annunciation the angel tells Mary “for God nothing is impossible, your cousin Elizabeth is pregnant”. God gives her a sign, this is the sign he gives her: “your cousin Elizabeth, in spite of her age, is pregnant”. Mary, like all the prophets, sets out to follow this sign from God! Mary “set out” … “went without delay”. Mary is a wayfarer, she is in ceaseless movement. She goes to Elizabeth’s village, then back to Bethlehem, then to Nazareth, then to Jerusalem. She is a wayfarer since the word she receives at the Annunciation. Mary walks alone. Mary “departed without delay” …. It is unusual, the women of that time had to go with others. The evangelist presents Mary as a free, courageous woman. On the roadsides were the impure and sinners who had been expelled from the cities. Therefore, if Mary went on the roads alone, the evangelist presents her as a bold woman, who is not afraid of anything.

Let us see what portrait Luke makes of Elizabeth, this older woman. Mary is going to share her secret with Elizabeth, but before Mary speaks Elizabeth already discovers this secret Why? Luke presents us with the tradition of the barren matriarchs (Sarah, Hannah, mother of Samuel, etc.). They could only conceive if they received God’s grace, becoming docile to God’s Spirit. God who had allowed them to live this great humiliation of being sterile, by God’s grace they could have children. Elizabeth remained faithful to God. “Thus God has acted with me” … Elizabeth realizes that God’s grace is at work in Mary. Elizabeth gives Mary confidence. In contrast, Zechariah doubts. Elizabeth is a woman filled with the Holy Spirit, she is a prophetic woman. He blesses Mary, her son and Mary’s faith. It is important to see the friendship and the relationship between these women. Who does it remind us of? Yes, the friendship between Ruth and Naomi (a younger one with an older one). Elizabeth is aware of what she is experiencing, she perceives the sacred history that exists in Mary. Rather, she presents them in a relationship based on God. It is a friendship based on the Spirit, where Elizabeth is aware of what is happening in Mary and can prophesy what is happening in her.

It is an image of the community that Jesus wants to create. “I do not call you servants, I call you friends”. Jesus wants the Church to be a community of friends. Where the older one prepares the appearance of the younger one.

The text invites us: