Saturday, December 1st, 2012click here for past entriesSinging the Coming of a Loved One
As we enter this Advent season of preparation for the coming of Christ, I’d like to invite you to focus for a few moments on Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth doesn’t tend to get quite as much press as Mary, but she is the mother of John the Baptist, who was a “miracle baby” of sorts. Both Elizabeth and Zechariah were getting on in years and had been unable to have children when John’s birth was announced to Zechariah in the Temple. Of course, Jesus was no ordinary baby, either, conceived by the Holy Spirit while Mary was still a virgin.
All of Luke, chapter 1, focuses on these two births, and in particular on Mary, Zechariah and Elizabeth. While much of this story is probably familiar to many of us, there are some added layers of meaning that I had never heard about before. During my time this year in the Holy Land, I learned some new things about these stories that I would like to share with you here.
First of all, it is helpful to know that in Middle Eastern culture, people would sing the coming of a loved one. And so, when Mary goes to visit her relative Elizabeth, Elizabeth greets her with a song, and then Mary sings her own song in response. While both of these songs are actually songs of praise to God, family members are also mentioned without ever calling them by name.
In Syriac-Aramaic (the language of Jesus), the name Elizabeth means “my God feeds” or “my God gives plenty” or “my God satisfies.” And so when Mary sings, “he has filled the hungry with good things,” she is really mentioning Elizabeth and what God has done for her (Lk. 1:53).
In the same way, the name Zechariah means “God remembers.” Mary sings, “He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever” (Lk. 1:54-55). In these words, she is not only remembering God’s mercy, but is including both Zechariah and John. Zechariah is in the “remembrance” part, and John is in the “mercy,” for the name John means “God have mercy.” John is also included when Mary sings, “His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation” (Lk. 1:50).
Much of the rest of Mary’s song comes straight from the Hebrew Scriptures, and in rejoicing in “God my Saviour,” she is including Jesus, whose name means “he saves.” Mary is giving thanks to God through her family. Similarly, Elizabeth, in her greeting to Mary, mentions Mary, Jesus, and John without ever calling them by name.
When you read Elizabeth and Mary’s songs/greetings to one another, the depth of their faith is striking. During this Advent season it is well worth it to take the time to read about these women of faith in Luke 1 and to ponder their example to us. It is also worth it to consider how we might sing the coming of Jesus. What would it sound like? What and whom would be included? How would our faith be reflected in the song?
It is also interesting to consider what role our family would play in our song and how we might refer to people without ever using their names. Meanwhile, may we be able to sing along with Mary, “my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour” (Lk. 1:47).
In Christ,
Pastor Lynne Hutchison
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