On this, the last Sunday of Advent, the great mysteries and personalities we have heard from over the past weeks suddenly converge in new ways. The prophetic promises made by Jeremiah, Baruch, Zephaniah over the past three Sundays and today, Micah to Israel foretold a just shoot from the house of David, a messenger of comfort, a mighty savior and a strong shepherd become stories of two children to be born, one the son of an elderly woman beyond child-bearing years, the other the son of a young virgin, conceived by the power of God’s Holy Spirit.
The first child, John the Baptist – the voice in the desert we have heard from over the last two weeks – is now silent, but communicates eloquently by leaping for joy in his mother’s womb as he hears the voice of Mary who is pregnant with the Christ child.
One can only imagine how wonderful this encounter recalled in today’s Gospel must have been – two generations locked in the embrace of divine joy and hope. Elizabeth, a woman in the autumn of her years, her deepest hope now answered, greeting the maiden from Nazareth, in the springtime of the world’s salvation.
Both are women of extraordinary faith: one trusting that even in her advanced age she might be fruitful, the other believing the message of an angel despite all the questions that must have swirled around in her head.
Through the power of divine grace and strong faith, these two ordinary women, without title or prestige, stand center stage in the great drama of salvation: bringing together the old and new covenants and witnessing to God’s fidelity and eternal mercy.
It would seem that God has a special love for the most ordinary: an elderly couple from the hill country, a simple virgin from Nazareth, the little town of Bethlehem. As we heard Micah prophesy a moment ago, “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” The long-awaited Messiah will come – he who would fulfill the dreams of the Davidic dynasty.
In these last days of Advent, we are called to travel more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation – God becoming man – and allow ourselves to leap for joy in the presence of the Christ child. We are called to find the glory in the most ordinary, and the greatest blessing in unexpected ways and in the smallest of things.
The circle of light on our Advent wreath is complete. To embrace its light we must, like Elizabeth and Mary, open our hearts to God and to others. We must live in the hope of God’s fidelity, and allow that hope to transform and empower our lives every day. In these last, few days before Christmas, let us, as we hear in today’s first reading, be at peace and to a world that so desperately needs it, let us bring God’s peace; it comes to us in surprising ways.
Come, Lord Jesus, come and save us.