THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT (Cycle C)

Readings:
Micah 5:1-4a
Psalm 80:2, 3b, 15-16, 18-19
Hebrews 10:5-10
Luke 1:39-45

Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The words LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh).

God reveals His divine plan for humanity in the two Testaments, and that is why we read and relive the events of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy. The Church's Universal Catechism teaches that our Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of the Readings: Recognizing the Davidic Messiah
In this last Sunday of Advent, the Church's Liturgy reveals the identity of the Redeemer-Messiah whose coming God promised from the time of Adam's fall from grace (Gen 3:15), and He foretold down through the centuries through His holy prophets. In the First Reading, we learn that one of those prophets was the 6th BC-century prophet, Micah. He reveals that the Messiah is more than a mortal man; He will be a ruler whose origin is "from ancient times." The faithful must look for His mother to give birth in Bethlehem, the city of the great King David with whom God made an eternal covenant and promised an heir from David's lineage would rule forever.  Micah also prophesies that the Davidic Messiah's rule will be universal, reaching "to the ends of the earth."

Our Responsorial Psalm is from a communal lament of the covenant people when they were threatened with destruction and exile by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC. They made their petition for God's intervention to save them despite their failures, directing their plea to Yahweh's Divine Presence enthroned above the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant. They petitioned God to send a "strong man," a "son of man," referring to a spiritually strong human man chosen by God and upon whom His favor rests, to save them from destruction. God sent such a man to save His covenant people at the great turning point in salvation history. "Son of Man" is Jesus' favorite title for Himself.  He came to save not only the "lost sheep" of Israel but to redeem all humanity. He is the Davidic prince and good shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (Ez 34:23; Jn 10:12-14), and Nations and peoples of every language serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:14).

Today's Second Reading tells us that Jesus is that promised Davidic heir. He is both the son of David (Mt 1:1; Lk 1:31-33) and the Son of God destined to reign as an eternal King (2 Sam 7:16; Lk 1:32, 35; Rev 19:16). Jesus is the only begotten Son of God (Jn 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Heb 1:5; 5:5; 11:17; 1 Jn 4:9), and the New Covenant High Priest. Unlike the high priests of the Sinai Covenant, selected because of their hereditary link to Aaron the first high priest, Jesus was God's choice like the ancient priest-king Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20; Ps 110:4), who blessed Abraham and offered him bread and wine, foreshadowing the Eucharist.

In the Gospel Reading, two mothers take center stage in Salvation History: Mary of Nazareth and her kinswoman Elizabeth, wife of the chief priest Zechariah and mother of St. John the Baptist. Mothers are the first to set a child on the path of life, and their influence can profoundly impact a child's future.  For this reason, the books of Kings and Chronicles name the mothers of the Davidic kings who bore the heirs of the Davidic covenant. St. Matthew identifies Jesus's mother as the virgin from Isaiah's prophecy (Mt 1:23 and Is 7:14) who gives birth to a son in the city of David that is the Bethlehem of Micah's prophecy in our First Reading.

Jesus's mother, the Virgin Mary of Nazareth, is a descendant of King David (Lk 1:32); she is the first person to know His true identity, and she is His first disciple. In our Gospel Reading, when Mary visits her kinswoman Elizabeth the baby in her womb, St. John the Baptist, filled with the Holy Spirit, leaped for joy to be in the presence of the Redeemer-Messiah in Mary's womb. And Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, declared that Mary is "the mother of my Lord" (referring to God) who has honored her with His presence (Lk 1:40-45).

Do you also recognize Jesus's true identity? Is He your Lord and your God who came to save you from your sins and set you on the path to eternal life?  If so, rejoice as St. John the Baptist and his mother rejoiced because your understanding of Jesus's true identity as the Son of God and your personal Savior is a gift from the Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit-inspired recognition is necessary to set you on the path to Heaven.

The First Reading Micah 5:1-4a ~ The Messiah from Bethlehem
1 Thus says the LORD: 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; whose origin is from old, from ancient times. 2 Therefore, the LORD will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. 3 He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; 4a he shall be peace.

The 8th-century BC prophet Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah. His ministry lasted from c. 750 – 687 BC, during the reigns of Davidic kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah (Mic 1:1). Bethlehem was a small village about five miles south of Jerusalem in the region of Ephrath (Gen 35:16, 19; 1 Sam 17:12). It was the ancestral home of Naomi and her Judahite relative Boaz. Boaz married Naomi's widowed daughter-in-law, the Moabitess Ruth, the great-grandmother of God's anointed, the shepherd boy who became King of Israel: David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:21-22; 1 Sam 16:1, 11-13).

Micah announced that the Redeemer-Messiah promised since Adam's fall from grace (Gen 3:15) would be born in Bethlehem, a village in the tribal lands of Judah and the birthplace of the great King David. Like his ancestor David, He would be a future ruler from humble origins. His destiny was to rule the covenant people, but His divine authority would extend to the ends of the earth, and His mission would be to inaugurate an era of peace with God (verses 3-4a). No Davidic king or his mother fulfills Micha's description of the promised Davidic Messiah and his mother (the "she" of verse 3) other than Jesus and Mary. Micah's prophecy also recalls passages from Isaiah 7:14, 9:5-6, 11:1-4, and God's eternal covenant with David that his heir would rule forever over an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam 7:12-16; 23:5; Ps 89:3; Dan 2:44; etc.).

Jewish and Christian traditions interpret Malachi 5:1-4 as a Messianic prophecy. The Jewish view appears in the writings of the Jewish Talmud (Pesahim, 51.1 and Nedarim, 39.2). In the New Testament, St. Matthew applies Micah's prophecy to Mary and Jesus, quoting Micah 5:1 from the LXX (Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, which varies slightly from the Hebrew) as an Old Testament fulfillment passage (Mt 2:4-6). St. Matthew wrote: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.  Micah's prophecy includes the powerful message that the promised Messiah is more than an ordinary man since his "origin is from old, from ancient times." Micah's "shepherd" imagery recalls the Messiah's Bethlehem ancestor, the shepherd boy David, anointed by God to be a king to "shepherd" His people Israel (2 Sam 5:1-2; Mt 1:1) and his heir who God would send to "shepherd" His covenant people (Ezek 34:23-24).

Jesus identified Himself as the "Good Shepherd" (Jn chapter 10) sent by God the Father to gather the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel (Mt 10:6; 15:24; 18:11; Lk 15:6). And when the Magi came seeking the newborn King of the Jews, St. Matthew recorded that the chief priests advised King Herod of the prophecy identifying Bethlehem of Judea as the birthplace of the Messiah, quoting Malachi 5:1 in Matthew 2:6. St. John's Gospel also records the opinion of the religious leaders' response to Jesus coming from the Galilee, objecting that He could not be the Messiah when they protested: Is the Christ to come from the Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ [Messiah] is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was? (Jn 7:40-42).

Christian tradition has always interpreted Micah 5:1-4 as a prophecy of the birth of the Christ/Messiah in Bethlehem. "Christos" is the Greek word Christians used for the Hebrew word Mashiach, "Messiah." "Bethlehem" is a village whose name means "house of bread." It is a meaningful name for the birthplace of the One who announced that He came as the "bread of life" for the salvation of humanity. After the miracle feeding of the five thousand, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (Jn 6:35); it is a promise He fulfills in the miracle of the Eucharist. Early Christian apologist Tertullian (c. AD 155- c. 197) wrote: "Since the children of Israel accuse us of grave error because we believe in Christ, who has come, let us show them from the Scriptures that the Christ who was foretold has come ... He was born in Bethlehem in Judah, as the prophet foretold: 'But you, O Bethlehem are by no means least ...' (Mal 5:2)" (Adversus Iudaeos, 13). And St. Irenaeus (c. AD 135- c. 202) wrote: "In his day, the prophet Micah told us of the place where the Christ would be born: Bethlehem, in Judah. 'O Bethlehem ... too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler of Israel.' Bethlehem is also the homeland of David, and Christ was from the line of David, not only because he was born of the Virgin, but because he was born in Bethlehem" (Demonstratio praedicationis apostolicae, 63).

Responsorial: Psalm 80:2, 3b, 15-16, 18-19 ~ Turn to the Lord and See His Face
The response is: "Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face, and we shall be saved."

2 O shepherd of Israel, harken, from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.  [...].  3b Rouse your power, and come to save us.
Response:
15 Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see; take care of this vine, 16 and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Response:
18 May your help be with the man of your right hand, with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.  19 Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
Response:

Psalm 80 was a communal lament of the covenant people when they were threatened with destruction and exile by the Assyrians in the 8th-century BC. It was a threat resulting from the people's failure to obey the Law of the Sinai Covenant. In the ratification of the covenant treaty at Sinai, God promised obedience would bring His protection and divine blessings, but disobedience would result in judgments against the Israelites, who would suffer all the ills of their pagan neighbors (Lev 26; Dt 28).

When the United Kingdom of Israel split into the two kingdoms of the Northern Kingdom Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, the people of the Northern Kingdom were rebellious and apostatized from their covenant with Yahweh. They were no longer obedient to God's laws. They abandoned the Temple in Jerusalem, established a separate non-Aaronic priesthood, and worshiped Yahweh together with false gods whenever and wherever they pleased (1 Kng 12:26-32; 13:33; 2 Kng 17:7-23). The Southern Kingdom of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic kings but also fell into periods of apostasy until a good Davidic king emerged to take the throne and call them to repentance and covenant restoration, holding back God's hand of judgment.

In verse 2, the covenant people acknowledge that they are still the flock of God's pasture and God is their Divine Shepherd who ruled over them (see Ps 79:13 in the previous psalm). They made a petition for God's intervention to save them despite their failures, directing their plea to Yahweh's Divine Presence enthroned above the cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was the covenant people's most sacred shrine kept in the Holy of Holies of Yahweh's Temple in the Southern Kingdom of Judah's capital, the city of Jerusalem (Ex 25:10-17, 22; 26:34).

The people complained that because God was angry with them, He had broken down the wall protecting the once splendid "vine" of Israel that He redeemed from Egypt and planted in the Promised Land of Canaan (verses 15-16). The "vine" is a metaphor for Israel that frequently appears in Scripture and is one of the recurring symbolic images of the prophets (see Is 5:1-7; 27:2-5; Jer 2:21; Hos 10:1; and in the New Testament Mt 21:22). The people petitioned God in verses 16 and 18 to send a "strong man," a "son of man," referring to a spiritually strong human man, chosen by God and upon whom His favor rests, to save them from destruction. They were probably thinking of a "son of man," who is another like the great King David who ruled the United Kingdom of Israel in the late 11th century BC. Then they promised if God sent such a man to save them, they would repent, turn once again to God, and be obedient to His covenant (verse 19).

At the great turning point in salvation history, God will send a "Son of Man," who was also a son of David, to save His covenant people. "Son of Man" is Jesus' favorite title for Himself (He uses it for Himself about 80 times in the Gospels). Jesus came to save not only the "lost sheep" of Israel but to redeem all humanity with a gift of "new life" (petition in verse 19) and fulfill the prophet Daniel's vision of "one like a Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven" to whom God gives "dominion, glory, and kingship" (Dan 7:13). Jesus is the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for His sheep (Jn 10:12-14). His Kingdom of the Church fulfills Daniel's prophecy of the "Son of Man" who ascended into Heaven (Acts 1:9-11) and where Nations and peoples of every language serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not be taken away, his kingship shall not be destroyed (Dan 7:14).

The Second Reading Hebrews 10:5-10 ~ Consecrated Through the Messiah to do God's Will
5 For this reason, when he came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 holocausts and sins offerings you took no delight in. 7 Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.'" 8 First he says, "Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." 9 These are offered according to the law. Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this "will," we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The "he" who came into the world in verses 5-9 is Jesus Christ, and it is Jesus who is the implied speaker. The inspired writer's argument concerning the imperfection of blood sacrifice is that God rejected animal sacrifices as a means of atoning for sins when He sent His Son as the single unblemished sacrifice to redeem humanity from the curse of sin. Under the old covenants, the expiation for sins was never in the animal's death but through the repentance, humility, and submission before God of the person offering atonement (1 Sam 15:22; Hos 6:6).

The inspired writer of the Letter to the Hebrews identified David as the writer of Psalm 95 in Hebrews 4:7 and 3:7 (David is the inspired writer of many psalms). St. Peter will quote Psalm 16:8-11 and attribute it to David, who he calls a prophet in Acts 2:25-28 from the LXX (Ps 15:8-11 in LXX). What is "written in the scroll" (Heb 10:7) refers to the Law of the Torah/Pentateuch that predates the Psalms, written centuries after God gave the Law at Mount Sinai. The Psalms were primarily written from the time of King David and during the period of the United Monarchy. It is likely that "the Law" of the Sinai Covenant is the subject of "the scroll." "The Law" is also the scroll or book mentioned in Hebrews 9:19, and the inadequacy of Mosaic Law to bring salvation is a significant theme in the Letter to the Hebrews. If the commands and prohibitions of Mosaic Law foreshadowed what Jesus accomplished in His self-sacrifice, then Jesus is, according to the Letter to the Hebrews, uniquely qualified to speak to us prophetically through His ancestor David concerning the imperfection and inadequacy of the Levitical animal sacrifices, which were only a shadow of what was to come through His sacrifice (Col 2:17).

The writer of Hebrews quotes from the Greek Septuagint version (LXX) of the Old Testament in verses 7-9a (verses 6-8 in some translations) from Psalm 40 in our translations, but 39:7-9 in the Septuagint. The chapter and the later verse divisions were not included in Bibles until the 13th and 17th centuries AD. The Jewish Masoretic Version was a revised Old Testament text dating to the Middle Ages. In contrast, the Septuagint text predated Christ and was the main translation used in Jesus's time and quoted in the New Testament. Differences appear in the phrase "but a body you prepared (fashioned) for me," missing from the Jewish Masoretic version. It is a significant variation since the New Testament writer of Hebrews identifies this passage as a prophecy of the Incarnation and Christ's submission to the will of the Father in His self-sacrifice.

Masoretic Septuagint New American
Psalm 40:6-8
"Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you dug ears for me; whole burnt offerings (holocausts) and sin offerings you did not request.  Then I said, 'Behold, I have come, it is written about me, in the [head of the] scroll of the book.  To do your will, O my God, I delight.'"
Psalm 39:7-9
"Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you fashioned [katartizo] a body for me; whole burnt offerings (holokautoma) and sin offerings you did not request.  Then I said, 'Behold, I have come, it is written about me in the head of the book [scroll].  To do your will, O my God, I intend...'"
Hebrews 10:5b-7
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared [katartizo] for me; holocausts (holokautoma) and sin offerings you took no delight in.  Then I said, 'As is written of me in the [head of the] scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"

7 "Then I said, 'As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.'"
The Greek translation of "as is written of me in the scroll" is instead "as it is written of me in the head of the scroll" (IBGE, vol. IV, page 601). The "head" may refer to the knob at the top of the wooden rod upon which the leather scroll, with the sacred words of God, was wound. In other words, the "part" which is on the stick containing the whole text may signify the "whole" of Sacred Scripture that is about Christ.

Jesus taught the Apostles in Luke 24:25-27 and 24:44-45 that everything written in the Scriptures was about Him. The writer of Hebrews believed this included Psalm 39 in the Septuagint (Greek) translation, Sacred Scripture that identifies the inadequacy of all the old Sinai Covenant sacrifices and offerings. It also points to a time from before the Incarnation of Christ when sacred Scripture alluded to the coming of the Messiah to fulfill the Law and do God's will.

St. Paul wrote about Christ's death as the fulfillment of Sacred Scripture: For I handed on to you as of first importance which I also received: That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (1 Cor 15:3-4). In connecting the passage from Psalm 39 in the LXX to Jesus, the inspired writer of Hebrews emphasizes not only the fulfillment of Scripture but Jesus's complete submission to the will of God as He prayed, "My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking, it, your will be done!" (Mt 26:42). And as St. Paul wrote in Philippians 2:8, Jesus completely submitted Himself to the will of the Father because he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.  

Assuming Psalm 39/40 dates to King David's time, the reference to Scripture may be to Deuteronomy 18:18-19 when God told Moses and the people, I shall raise up a prophet like yourself; I shall put my words into his mouth and he will tell them everything I command him.  If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it. In the event of the Transfiguration, a voice from Heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him" It was a divine command the three Apostles, Peter, James, and John heard (Mt 17:5, emphasis added).

Psalm 39 from the Septuagint also emphasizes that the performance of Mosaic Law's external demands only pointed to what God required, which was an inward change as expressed by the prophet Hosea ~ For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than holocausts (Hos 6:6). Jesus submitted His life to the will of God to transform hearts and bring about what the old law wasn't capable of achieving. Only Jesus, through the purification of His atoning sacrifice, could fulfill what the law could not. Jesus made statements to this effect in the Gospels:

8 First, he says, "Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in." 9 These are offered according to the law. Then he says, "Behold, I come to do your will." He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this "will," we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
These verses offer a teaching on the passage from Psalm 39:7-9 from the Septuagint version of Sacred Scripture. And they also connect that passage to the words of the prophet Samuel in 1 Samuel 15:22 ~ Does the LORD so delight in holocausts and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice and submission than the fat of rams.

God chose Samuel to anoint the young David as the King of Israel (1 Sam Chapter 16). Samuel was also David's teacher. According to Psalm 39 LXX, David certainly learned about animal sacrifice versus human submission and obedience from Samuel.

What does the writer of Hebrews mean when he says God took away "the first to establish the second"? What is the first; what is the second? Under the commands and prohibitions of the Old Covenant sacrificial system, there were various kinds of sacrifices (see the chart on the Levitical Offerings and Sacrifices). The writer of Hebrews mentions two types of animal sacrifice:

  1. Animal sacrifices where the altar fire consumed the whole animal, known as a "holocaust" or "whole burnt" offerings.
  2. Sin sacrifices in which the sinner confessed his sin over the animal, and the animal then died in his place. The animal's blood "covered" the sin of the repentant individual as a priest poured it out from a chalice at the altar and its fat burned in the altar fire (the chief priests ate the remaining cooked meat of this sacrifice with their families).

The flesh and blood of animals were not what God desired. He wanted repentant and purified hearts cleansed of sin: Sacrifice and offering you did not desire (verse 8 quoting from Ps 40:6-8 LXX). Therefore, God provided the perfect sacrifice: but a body you prepared for me that was the Incarnation of the Son. In the self-sacrifice of the Son, God removed the necessity of imperfect animal sacrifice, offering instead the flesh and blood of God the Son, the unblemished Lamb of God. He established the one perfect and eternal sacrifice for the atonement and sanctification of humanity. Through the obedient will of Jesus to offer Himself up as a sacrifice, we have been consecrated (Heb 10:10). Jesus fulfilled the will of God who then abolished the old, imperfect ritual sacrifices to establish an eternal sacrifice for the sanctification of believers (Mt 18:14; Gal 1:4; Eph 1:5, 9, 11) through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all (Heb 10:10) to bring man to salvation:

The old Sinai Covenant Law served its purpose as a tutor and a guide to prepare God's covenant people to understand the necessity of repentance and blood sacrifice in atonement for sins, to provide a path to holiness as preparation for the Gospel, and to recognize the coming of the Redeemer-Messiah. However, it was deficient because it could not offer the gift of eternal salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, which become the gifts in the New Covenant Kingdom that is the Church of God the Son (see CCC 1963-64).

The Gospel of Luke 1:39-45 ~ The Visitation: Mary Journeys from Nazareth to the House of Elizabeth
39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled."

After the angel Gabriel's visit at the Annunciation, Mary immediately set out from Nazareth in Galilee to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth in Judea. She probably joined a caravan traveling to Jerusalem, making the 7-8-day journey to a town in the hill country of Judea. According to a Christian tradition that predates the Crusades, Elizabeth and her husband, the priest Zechariah, lived in Ein Kerem, about four miles west of Jerusalem (Shrines of the Holy Land, pages 125-29). After the covenant people returned from the Babylonian exile, the Book of Nehemiah records that the chief priests took up residence in or near Jerusalem (Neh 11:3).

As was the custom, Elizabeth was in seclusion for the first five months of her pregnancy, as the ancients counted without the concept of a zero place-value, but four months as we count (Lk 1:24). It was the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, but the fifth month, as we count (Lk 1:36), when Mary traveled to visit her relative immediately after the Incarnation.  Mary's desire to see her kinswoman was probably prompted by the Holy Spirit as well as by her need to share her experience with someone who would understand.

42 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
When Mary entered the house, and Elizabeth first heard Mary's voice (Lk 1:40), the fetus of St. John the Baptist, recognizing the presence of his Lord, leaped for joy within his mother's womb (Lk 1:41, 44). The unborn St. John's response to Mary and the unborn Christ recalls God's words to Jeremiah: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you (Jer 1:5). Think of the horror of abortion taking place daily as children, personally known by God from the womb and given as His holy gift, are violently murdered before (and in some cases after) their birth.  

In Elizabeth's Holy Spirit-inspired greeting to her kinswoman, she gave three blessings in verses 42-45:

  1. She blessed Mary.
  2. She blessed Jesus.
  3. She blessed the faith God gave Mary.

Elizabeth's third blessing for Mary: Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled was because of her belief in contrast to Zechariah's unbelief (Lk 1:18-20). Mary is the first Christian. Her belief does not waver during the years of Jesus's ministry or His Passion. She also faithfully prayed together with those who believed and waited for the coming of the Paraclete (Holy Spirit) in the Upper Room forty days after Jesus's Ascension and fifty days after His Resurrection (Acts 1:13-14).

43 And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
Bible scholars (both ancient and modern) noticed the similarity between Elizabeth's rhetorical question in Luke 1:43 and King David's rhetorical question in 2 Samuel 6:9 when he said: How can the Ark of the Lord come to me? David was speaking of the Ark of the Covenant. They saw Elizabeth's question as an intentional comparison between Mary and the Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place of God among His people. See the chart on Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant). Verse 56 appears to confirm the comparison where Mary remained in Elizabeth's house in the Judean hill country three months or two months as we count, just as the Ark stayed in the Judean hill country house of Obed-edom for the same length of time in 2 Samuel 6:11.

When Elizabeth said, "my Lord" in verse 43 and "the Lord" in verse 45, she referred to Jesus in verse 43 and God in verse 45. She refers to the Divinity of Jesus and, therefore, to Mary as "the mother of God."  By the strength of Elizabeth's statement, prompted by the Holy Spirit, the Council of Ephesus declared Mary the "Mother of Jesus" and the "Mother of God" in AD 431. CCC 495: "Called in the Gospels 'the mother of Jesus,' Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as 'the mother of my Lord.' In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly 'Mother of God' (Theotokos)." Also, see CCC 466, 495, and 509.

From what Elizabeth said in verse 45, she knows what the angel Gabriel told her husband and what the angel told Mary. It is knowledge imparted to her by the Holy Spirit in the moment of her joy, but other information must also have been shared with her by her husband (see Lk 1:60 where she knows the child's name before Zechariah's speech returned). For other references to the expression "fruit of your womb" in Scripture, see where God promised to bless Israel for covenant obedience: He will love and bless and multiply you; he will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your soil (Dt 7:13). Also, see Psalms 127:3 where Children too are a gift from the LORD [Yahweh], the fruit of the womb, a reward. Therefore, to reject the birth of a child is to reject a gift from God.

Like the Virgin Mary, Elizabeth knew Jesus's identity as the Divine Messiah and Son of God. It was a revelation the angel Gabriel shared with Mary at the Annunciation that was later revealed to her kinswoman Elizabeth by the Holy Spirit at Mary's visitation. Has the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus's true identity to you, and do you believe He has the power to save you from your sins? Do you recognize His visitation in the miracle of the Eucharist when, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to greet you as a disciple and nourish you on your journey to salvation? If so, share that joy with everyone you meet, for you are keeping company with saints and angels in the knowledge the Holy Spirit has revealed to you!

Catechism References (* indicates Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Hebrews 10:5-10 (CCC 606); 10:5-7 (CCC 462, 516*, 2568); 10:5 (CCC 488*); 10:7 (CCC 2824); 10:10 (CCC 614*, 2824)

Luke 1:41 (CCC 523*, 717, 2676); 1:43 (CCC 448*, 495, 2677); 1:45 (CCC 148, 2676)

The Visitation (CCC 148*, 495*, 717*, 2676*)

God the Son becomes incarnate to do the Father's will (CCC 462*, 606*, 607*, 2568*, 2824*)

Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2015; revised 2021 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.