Today is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so the Gospel selection from Luke details the meeting of Mary, who was pregnant with Jesus; and Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist. We’ve just returned from a big family gathering for a milestone birthday party for my father-in-law, and today is my brother-in-law’s birthday, so a number of themes have been reflected for me in today’s readings: family, gatherings, travel, discussion about current and future plans.
The family unit is, of course, ancient, stretching back to the earliest chapters of Genesis in Sacred Scripture and continuing to this day. It is referenced in the Ten Commandments (“Honor thy father and mother”), and that Commandment is the first one listed after the first three detailing our relationship with God. So it’s obvious that family is important to God.
Although dealing with extended family, the Visitation provides a good encapsulation as to why. Here, Elizabeth proclaims the goodness of God and Mary’s part in God’s plan: “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
Also importantly, to my eye, Elizabeth reaffirms Mary’s role and actions: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
Mary, for her part, responds in kind, beginning, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
Today’s Gospel selection ends: “Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.” (And, as an aside, that’s how I know Mary is a woman of far greater grace than I can imagine; I’m not sure I could spend three weeks with most of my family!)
In my opinion, to witness good working families is to witness God in action. Like the air flowing or the sun rising and setting, you may not even notice how wonderful a good family can be: the check-ins to make sure everything is going well; the little signs of affection — cards, phone calls, text messages — that are traded; the friendly voice or helping hand that’s always available.
If you are blessed with such a family, be grateful! But beware that a family should not be an end unto itself — a way to advance oneself and interests above the pack — but a way to . . . well, help do God’s will. Today’s alternate first reading, from the Letter to the Romans, tied in well to this idea for me: “Brothers and sisters: Let love be sincere;
hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.
Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.”
Of course, the “brothers and sisters” referred to there is in the larger sense of humanity, but the advice applies at least as well to our own brothers and sisters . . . and parents, cousins, aunts and uncles, and more.
If your family is close to that loving and supportive network that made Mary and Elizabeth’s reunion so blessed and happy, rejoice! Perhaps today is a good chance to reflect upon that gift, and ensure you’re doing what you can to “reinvest” those blessings into bolstering each other in prayer and action to (hopefully) bring you all closer to God.
And if your family is not close to that ideal, realize that all families are almost certain fall short when compared to the ideal of the Holy Family and its family relations described in the Bible. Pray for those who have not come close to living up to those standards, and keep your heart open to helping (without leaving yourself open to further harm or damage, if that’s a concern). And realize that you may well have the opportunity to be the basis for a Godly family going forward, with those in your household forming the basis for future generations.
We all can have God in our lives if we open our hearts to the possibility, and families are an especially potent way to bring, keep, and reinforce God in our hearts. God may not be as literally present as the visitation between Mary and Elizabeth, but the essence of that reunion can still spark within us a joy and inspiration from our own families that matches Mary’s and Elizabeth’s Godly proclamations.
Today’s readings: Zep 3:14-18A; Rom 12:9-16; Isaiah 12:2-3,4BCD,5-6; Lk 1:39-56
