There are certain people in our lives who, when we see them or hear their voice, make our heart skip a beat with delight. They are the ones who can make us laugh when everything seems dark. They are the ones who have strong arms and a soft heart, who wrap us in a smothering bear hug that makes everything seem all right. They are the wise ones who have weathered many a storm and whose assurances that all will be well can be trusted absolutely. Such is the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth in today’s gospel. The moment Elizabeth heard Mary’s voice, both her own heart and the baby in her womb leaped for joy. Mary undoubtedly felt the same.

Oftentimes we imagine Mary, the younger of the two, hastening from Galilee to Judea out of concern and generosity to help her older relative, who is coping with pregnancy at an advanced age. We also picture Elizabeth as the wise figure of an older mentor, who wraps the bewildered teenage mother-to-be in her strong embrace, offering her wisdom and strength in a difficult time. God’s timing is difficult for both woman. How much easier it would have been for Elizabeth had her child come when her body was younger. How much easier it would have been for Mary had her child arrived after her marriage to Joseph.

In a culture in which a woman was esteemed for the male children she bore, Elizabeth likely endured accusatory glances and unkind comments throughout her life as people wondered why God was punishing her with barrenness. Likewise, in Mary’s little village of Nazareth, the gossip about her probably started flying once her condition was known. Elizabeth, who has been utterly faithful to God all her life despite the suffering she has endured, is the perfect companion for Mary. She helps Mary learn to trust even more deeply the mysterious ways of God, as she endures the many difficulties that come with saying “yes” to God.

Mary’s “yes” to God is found in the prayer we call the “Magnificat.” “The Almighty has done great things for me.” We all know people who sing those words with their very lives. This prayer is found first in the Old Testament Book of Samuel. Hannah, the mother of Samuel, sang this song of praise to God as she gave her first born son to serve in the temple. The song speaks of God turning the world upside down, destroying the wicked and raising those without power to places of honor. Both Hannah and Mary lived in times of chaos. They lived in times when neighbors warred against each other. They lived in times when people struggled to understand God’s will for their lives and found themselves at odds with one another in that understanding - religious wars. They lived in times when there was a clear distinction between people with power and people without power. They lived in times when a few people controlled most of the resources of the land and most of the people struggled for survival. In other words, they lived in times very much like our own.

Mary’s “Magnificat” comes from her tradition and from her heart, but it does not stop with herself, with the blessing she has received from God. She sings for the future as well as the past and the present. She sings of her hope, of the trust she places in God and in God’s justice. She sings of the fullness of creation, when all that God has created is as God creates it to be...in harmony, at peace. Mary’s song was a song for her times. It is also a song for our time. Meister Eckhart, a theologian of the14th century, tells us that we are all - all - meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born. We are all meant to be mothers of God. Each one of us is called to birth God into the world. Elizabeth helped Mary to give birth to God, to trust even more deeply the mysterious ways of God. Each one of us needs someone who will guide us and greet us and show us how valuable we are. So give thanks to God today for those wonderful friends and loved ones who inspire and support you and ask God for the grace that the sound of your voice will be a source of delight for others. The ‘urging of Christmas’ calls us to be forgiving, charitable, loving, trusting in God’s Word. We are meant to be companions to one another. Like Elizabeth and Mary, let us abandon ourselves to the mysterious ways of God and give birth to new life in our world.