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| The Visitation by Carl Bloch |
“During those days, Mary
set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah ....” (Luke 1:39)
In haste. Mary traveled in haste. Had she briefly planned the trip, quickly
assembling what was needed, then making an organized yet hasty departure? Or had she been more impulsive, simply
grabbing her shawl and departing in haste the moment she heard the news of her
cousin, Elizabeth’s, situation? Was it
cold the day she left? Did the wind lash
at her hair as she stepped outside, reminding her that in her haste she'd
forgotten her cloak or a warmer veil? Did
she even have one? Did she hurry on anyway?
How many times have we gone to aid someone else “in haste”? How many times have we immediately put aside our own comfort or convenience to serve
others so readily?
Remember, at this point, Mary
already was pregnant with the Infant Christ Child.
Being pregnant, just how much
“haste” could Mary muster? Did she have
an easy pregnancy, because she was sinless and He was God? Or did she suffer the usual discomforts of
creating a brand new human being? Even
if her pregnancy was flawless, Mary surely still swelled in size the way
pregnant women do. She still had to
carry around physically the extra weight of her ever-growing holy burden each
day, perhaps even bumping into things or requiring a larger tunic with the seam
let out because of her unaccustomed size.
She still had to find a
comfortable position in which to lie on her side so she could sleep at night.
In “hill country.” Hill country?
That doesn't sound easy. Certainly
not paved. Are you familiar with the
terrain around Jerusalem? The city sits on a limestone platueau amidst
steep valleys. Surrounded by mountainous
hills. Mountains, really. At least four ruggedly impassable mountains. Sharp and wide ravines. To the east lies the Judean desert, which in
10 miles descends 4,000 feet to the Dead Sea. Between the mountains, ravines, and
surrounding deserts, Jerusalem
at this time only could be approached safely from the north. It was considered easily defensible, not
easily reached.
Mountains. Ravines.
Deserts. Hill country.
I don’t know about you, but
when I’m pregnant, anything more than a speed bump constitutes an arduous
climb. How did Mary climb? On foot?
By donkey? Was she alone? Accompanied?
Did the weather cooperate? Or was
she hampered by blistering sun? Driving wind? Pelting rain?
Cold nights?
The more I think of these
things, the more “Mary went as quickly as she could” doesn’t sound so simple as
it seems.
The Wizard of Oz told the Tin
Man that the true measure of a heart is not how much you love others, but how
much others love you. How very much
Elizabeth must
have been loved by Mary! How much Mary
must have loved her elder cousin to venture out several days throughout this
terrain to reach her! Mary completely
gave herself over to the journey, not just the physical journey of getting
there, but the interior journey of selflessness, of service to others.
“….she entered the house
of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.”
(Luke 1:40)
Mary not only went for a
“visit” to see how Elizabeth was doing, and
thereby become “company” for Elizabeth
to host. The Blessed Virgin stayed for
three months, more than likely humbly making herself useful around Elizabeth and Zechariah’s
home, sweeping, cleaning, cooking, laundering, tidying, mending, sewing,
tending a garden, gathering wood, feeding the animals. Mary would have bent readily to these tasks,
not only because of her own inherent selflessness, but perhaps especially inspired
to empathy by Elizabeth’s
advanced age, yet similar expectant condition.
Remember – Elizabeth was old. Quite old.
Far past typical child-bearing age.
How marvelous it must have been for her to have her young cousin, Mary,
there at her side, not only helping her in physical tasks, but also to cheer
and encourage Elizabeth in her own burden of pregnancy.
Just how difficult was it for
Elizabeth to
carry the future John the Baptist with grace and ease?
This is the other side of the
Visitation story – Elizabeth’s
story.
READ THIS: The Life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the visions of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, www.tanbooks.com
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