Homily for the 4th Sunday of Advent, C

Luke gives us Elizabeth’s response, "but Mary would have certainly spoken first. ‘Peace, Peace be with you’. And this simple greeting made something vibrate, someone, inside of Elizabeth. And in this vibration, something was said. … Which is the Good News. (Blessed Christian de Chergé, Trappist monk, 20th Century Martyr of Algeria)

I have Mass on Sunday, December 22 at St. Isidore @ 9:30/11:30 am

I will have Mass on Christmas Morning at St. Isidore @ 8:30 am

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Transcript

A reading from the Holy Gospel, according to Luke. 
Mary set out and travelled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among men, 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? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy. 
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." 
The Gospel of the Lord. 
Mary entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. Mary and Elizabeth are not alone. How good it is that God gave them one to another! God's most radical intervention into history was listened to and received in community. 
The same is true of us. We are given one to another. We are not alone. We belong to God. And because we belong to God, we belong to each other. 
Zechariah, Elizabeth, and Mary, the figures who appear in the first chapter of Luke's Gospel, are waiting to welcome the promised one. When Mary and her child, the promises and longings of countless generations were finally being fulfilled. In the words of the prophet Micah, "From you shall come forth for me, one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock." 
After John is born, Luke will introduce him to us through his father Zechariah, who is filled with the Holy Spirit. The canticle of Zechariah is called the Benedictus from the Latin translation of the opening line, "Bless be the Lord, the God of Israel." "Blessed" is the first word we hear on the lips of Zechariah. 
Now Luke is introducing us to Jesus in the same way, 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." This short canticle of Luke's Gospel has become part of our Hail Mary. But Elizabeth is not finished. She even speaks a third be attitude. "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." 
Later in the Gospel of Luke, another woman shouts a be attitude from Mary, saying to Jesus, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breast that nursed you," to which Jesus replies, echoing the words of Elizabeth, "Blessed, rather, are those who hear the word of God, and obey it." 
Mary is blessed on both counts, first, for her relationship to Jesus as mother of the word incarnate, and second, for her relationship to him as a disciple and keeper of his word. Quite appropriately, the good news is carried by the first disciple, Mary. 
At the end of Luke's Gospel, it is not Mary who arises in haste, but Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, who arise at daybreak after the Sabbath to visit the tomb outside Jerusalem. And to their great joy, the tomb is revealed to have been a womb. The women remember Jesus' words and spread the good news. 
In Luke's Gospel, Mary is portrayed as the Ark of God. The angel Gabriel told Mary that the Spirit of God will overshadow her, in the same way that the Ark of the Covenant is being overshadowed by the wings of the cherubim. The Ark was one of the chief symbols of the presence of God with the people. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments, the words of God in stone. The womb of the Virgin contained Jesus. The word of God made flesh. 
When Elizabeth hears Mary's greeting, John the Baptist leaps for joy in her womb. The verb is the same verb that describes David dancing before the Ark. Faced with the Ark, David said, "Who am I that the Ark of the Lord should come to me?" Likewise, Elizabeth says to Mary, "Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" 
The Ark traveled to the hill country of Judah to rest in the house of Obed-edum. Mary traveled to the hill country of Judea to the house of Zechariah. The Ark remained in the house of Obed-edum for three months. Mary remained in the house of her cousin Elizabeth for three months. 
The Ark returned to its sanctuary and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where the presence and glory of God is revealed in the newly built temple. Mary returned home from visiting Elizabeth and eventually comes to Jerusalem. Mary returned home from visiting Elizabeth and eventually comes to Jerusalem, where she presents God the Son in the temple. 
On New Year's Day, we read from the Book of Numbers, "The Lord let his face shine upon you." The verse seems to be reflected in the responsorial Psalm today, when we cried out to God, "Let us see your face." We're so close to Christmas now that we want to see it with our own eyes. 
Imagine if you will a baby in the mother's womb. If the baby had consciousness, it would be very difficult for them to believe that there is such a thing as a mother, even though they're completely surrounded by their mother. The baby has to be born in order to meet their mother face to face. 
When Mary arrives, she greets Elizabeth. Mary would have spoken first. She would have said, "Peace. Peace be with you." And this simple greeting made something vibrate, someone inside of Elizabeth. And in this vibration, something was said, which is the good news. 
No one becomes a gospel character without having something to teach. You're only cast in this play if you can proclaim the good news. 
Elizabeth is given the privilege of proclaiming what we might call the gospel of Mary. In hearing who Mary is, we're also told who we are. In revealing the awesome dignity of Mary's discipleship, St. Luke's Elizabeth gives us here and now the great evangelical commission. 
"Blessed are you who believed 
that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."