“Some needed support”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Luke 1:39-57 (Forward, p. 33) CEV p. 1055
To call such groups as AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) ‘self-help groups’ is actually something of a misnomer, namely because one of their strongest points is the presence of ‘fellow sufferers’, others who have been on the same ‘journey’ and who can offer their support and encouragement. There is nothing like someone who has ‘been there’!
In one sense, Mary and Elizabeth provided this kind of support for each other. Elizabeth, in her long, tedious years of blame, shame, ridicule and ostracization on account of her inability to bear children, knew what it was to be like to be on society’s fringe, to bear the brunt of society’s gossip and inuendo mill. It was something that Mary, as a mother of a child with questionable parentage—it later became widely known that her husband, Joseph, was not the biological father of Jesus—would have to also bear and put up with. So, having the support and company of Elizabeth would have been most welcome and rather needed.
But, in addition to this, there was also the matter of who their respective sons would turn out to be. Already, even before their respective births—and soon afterwards—there were indications that these two lads were destined for some unusual career path, the forerunner of the Messiah in John’s case and the Messiah Himself in Jesus’ case. So, while Elizabeth would probably not be present during John’s adulthood, career and eventual fate, Mary certainly would be in the case of her son. So, any support or encouragement beforehand would be most appreciated.
In some ways, this kind of support and encouragement is precisely what church members, as fellow members, parts, of the Body of Christ, should provide for each other—and which sadly, all too often, is lacking. Sometimes what people encounter within the church is backbiting, criticism, judgmentalism and snarky, nasty remarks. This hardly constitutes the kind of support that anyone in pain or difficulty ever needs.
This said, there is one source of support and encouragement that we can always turn to, namely, Jesus. He has ‘already been there’ and knows exactly what it is like. And furthermore, He is Emmanuel, God with us, and
always present and available, no matter what the circumstances. So, He can provide us with much needed support during our times of difficulty. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Forward notes: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb’” (verses 41-42).
“Long before the Day of Pentecost, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is undeniably present throughout the Old Testament, hovering over the abyss at the beginning of creation and offering Wisdom to all who seek her. The Spirit even comes upon people, enabling them to preach or to prophesy. But Elizabeth is the first to be filled with the Spirit, the first to experience that indwelling presence that radiates from out of her being into the world around her. And this Spirit-filled woman’s first proclamation is powerful. This unlikely mother-to-be affirms that an even more unlikely mother-to-be, her young cousin standing before her, has been set aside for a special purpose.
“Elizabeth is an example for all of us who seek to be led by the Spirit. As Spirit fills her and pours out of her, she speaks in love. She offers words of hope and encouragement. She calls forth things that Mary is only beginning to understand.”
Moving Forward: “Holy Spirit, teach us how to build up one another.”