Mary and Joseph, Part III

Luke 39-45
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42And she spake out with a loud voice, and said , Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Blessed is she that believed…ok, I believe…I think I believe…I’ve been told all this stuff since I was little…too little to understand that virgins don’t have babies and …

But there is another interesting point to be made here.  Revelations about the coming of the Messiah are being made to women, who were not held in very high esteem in those days.

Indeed, Elisabeth’s husband Zechariah has been so skeptical that he, the man, had been stuck dumb for not believing.  It’s the girls in this case that are doing the leading.

Women have been taking the rap for all that is wrong in the word ever since Genesis and that business with the serpent…and now, hey, these two women are suddenly in the spotlight and the man of the house is struck dumb.

Maybe, although it took centuries for it to come to pass, this is another special Christmas surprise… Paul spelled it out in Galatians 3:28:  There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Centuries later, Abigail Adams, wife of an American president, would admonish her husband to “remember the ladies.” God, it appears, has never forgotten them.

Maybe we’re not quite there yet, in every branch of the church or every culture, but we are getting there.

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord, that all people are equal in your sight and your salvation is for everyone.