Facing Tragedy: Luke 1:39-56

Focus Passage: Luke 1:39-56 (GW)

39 Soon afterward, Mary hurried to a city in the mountain region of Judah. 40 She entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

41 When Elizabeth heard the greeting, she felt the baby kick. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child that you will have. 43 I feel blessed that the mother of my Lord is visiting me. 44 As soon as I heard your greeting, I felt the baby jump for joy. 45 You are blessed for believing that the Lord would keep his promise to you.”

46 Mary said,

“My soul praises the Lord’s greatness!
47 My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior,
48     because he has looked favorably on me, his humble servant.

“From now on, all people will call me blessed
49     because the Almighty has done great things to me.
        His name is holy.
50             For those who fear him,
                his mercy lasts throughout every generation.

51 “He displayed his mighty power.
    He scattered those who think too highly of themselves.
52         He pulled strong rulers from their thrones.
            He honored humble people.
53                 He fed hungry people with good food.
                    He sent rich people away with nothing.

54 “He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.
55     This is the promise he made to our ancestors,
        to Abraham and his descendants.”

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back home.

Read Luke 1:39-56 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Being a guy, the event our passage for this entry focuses in on is one of the least relatable passages in the whole Bible, and especially one of the least relatable ones for me in the four gospels. This is because it contains the interaction between Elizabeth and Mary following Mary being given word that she would give birth to the Messiah and that Elizabeth was already six months pregnant.

In other words, this passage contains a snapshot of the interaction of a first trimester pregnant woman with a third trimester pregnant woman.

But even though I cannot relate even a little with the characters in this passage, I still can find something interesting in the details of what is shared in and around this event.

One interesting detail that we can see looking at these two women is that while they both are pregnant, both their pregnancies were their first ones. Mary, who was young, perhaps even a teenager, had never been pregnant before – because she was a virgin. On the other hand, Elizabeth was old and she also had not had any children before.

But my earlier statement might not be entirely correct. While Elizabeth did not have any children, I am sure that her and Zechariah had tried many times throughout their marriage to get pregnant – and while they were not successful before being promised by an angel it is very possible that Elizabeth had miscarried one or more times. In this way, Elizabeth may be a Biblical example of someone who faced the tragedy of miscarriage that many women face in the world today.

This leads me to the big truth: when we face tragedy, it is easy to fall into the trap of feeling like we are all alone. But when tragedy happens, being part of a community is one of the best things one can do to find healing.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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