In November of 2017 my son had an infection that had morphed into a flesh eating bacteria. We discovered on the way down, that emergency surgery was going to be a thing. The surgery was successful, but there would be a long road of recovery. My wife made the decision to stay down and provide wound care for our son. The Friday before Christmas my son called me with the good news that they were going to be able to come home for Christmas. It was not a sure thing until that moment. As I was talking to my son, as realization hit me that my wife and son was coming home, I started hopping. It was not a planned thing. I didn’t say, “You know what? When I find out that my wife and son will be able to come home I think I will show my excitement by jumping. I rather think I’ll hop up and down like a child.” It was a spontaneous, joy overriding my body, explosion of happiness. Sometimes you just have to leap.
Luke 1:39-45 is the account of Mary visiting her relative Elizabeth. We don’t know exactly where Zacharias and Elizabeth lived. It was in the hill country, in a city of Judah. Some expostulated that Hebron was the city, which would have been the most important city in this region and is south of Bethlehem. If this be the case, this would have been quite the journey. Most likely it was some village not too far from Bethlehem. But none of this is truly important. What happens during this visit, that is the important thing. When Mary enters the house and greets her relative Elizabeth, the unborn John leaps with joy in her womb. There just may be a connection here with 2 Samuel 6:14-16. The Ark of the Covenant is finally coming to Jerusalem after failed plans and unfortunate death. The Ark which represents the glory and presence of God has arrived. David is so excited that he leaps and dances with such exuberant joy that he apparently exposed too much of himself. Well, that’s what Queen Michal accuses him of anyway. I’m pretty sure that David didn’t plan any of what happened. I think joy seized him and he hopped and danced like a maniac. So, as Mary enters the house, the in the womb, baby John knows the significance of God coming and he leaps. My guess is that this leaping was more than what would have been considered within the normal parameters of baby activity. This was one baby, most likely full of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging the presence and activity of God within another unborn, barely conceived, baby. Can we learn here?
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and we are reminded of the prophets of old upon whom the Spirit of God would come upon so that they could utter a divine message. Elizabeth shouts out with a shout. It may be that as soon as the Spirit camp upon her she shouted an inarticulate cry, or it may be that she shouted out her double blessing. The word “blessed” means “to speak well of, be praised.” Blessings in the Old Testament were serious business, often uttered with prophetic authority. Mary is to be praised among women and the fruit of her womb is to be praised. There may be an echo here of Judges 5:24 which is a part of Deborah’s song. Verse 24 praises Jael as the most blessed of women for her part in killing Sisera with a tent peg. So, this average woman, the wife of Heber, because she drove a tent peg through Sisera’s temple, becomes the most blessed of women. And our passage may be another reminder of God working his glory through a poor, average, from nowhere, teenage girl – who becomes praised among women. This is how God works.
Elizabeth humbly asks how it can be that the mother of the Lord would visit her. This may be referring to Psalm 110:1 which has, “The Lord says to my Lord: sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” It is an acknowledgment that Mary’s unborn baby is the Messiah; the fulfillment of promise. Elizabeth informs Mary of the whole leaping baby thing and gives her interpretation that the baby leaped with joy. She finishes with another pronouncement of blessing – this time blessing Mary for her belief that the message she had received would be fulfilled. And God worked here because this poor, average, from nowhere, teenage girl said “Okay, Do it Lord!” I’m thinking there might be something here we should learn.
Sometimes you just have to leap. When was the last time you were so overcome with joy you hopped? When was the last time you understood that the Most Holy God was right here with you? Leaping for joy is not something you plan; it is not something you do because someone told you to. Leaping for joy is what happens when the joy of God’s presence seizes you. You just have to leap. Don’t you? Peace.