Friends, today, as we light the candle of love, the fourth candle of the last Sunday of Advent, the readings tell us that we are bearers of the good news.
In the 1st reading, the prophet Micah is a bearer of the good news to the Israelites, telling them the place where the Messiah was to be born. The good news was that the Messiah was to be born not in the big religious city of Jerusalem but rather in the smallest and most insignificant town of Bethlehem.
In the gospel, we encounter two women who are bearers of the good news, two expectant women. They are of different ages and backgrounds but are united by God’s special divine intervention in their lives—the kind of divine intervention God wants to do in your life this Christmas.
When Mary accepted an angel’s message about God’s act of choosing her to be the mother of Jesus, she rushed to share this news with a godly woman, her cousin Elizabeth. She went there bearing the yet-to-be-born child.
Every human being has a need to share their life story with others. Psychologists tell us that confiding in someone improves health. A maxim goes, “You’re only as sick as your secrets.”
Today’s question is, “Who do you rush to share your story with? Who is your Elizabeth?”
Christmastime is a time to meet with relatives and friends. As we go to meet and encounter them, what are we bearing, what do we carry along? Are we only carrying material gifts? Mary teaches us that the greatest gift to carry is Jesus. As Christians, we don’t just have social meetings; every moment is a moment for evangelisation, for bringing Jesus along.
In this time of Advent, as Catholics, the Confessional is our Elizabeth. We are invited to come and confide in this place, to come and have our sins forgiven and receive the grace to defeat sin.
For married couples, their spouse is their other Elizabeth. Your spouse is supposed to be your best friend, you, Elizabeth. For children, it is your parents.
Reflecting from another angle, “Am I someone’s Elizabeth?” “To whom am I an Elizabeth?” How comfortable are others to share their stories with me without judging or dismissing them? If you are truly a listing friend, nonjudgmental, like Mary, others will travel long distances to come and see you.
What I like in the gospel is how Elizabeth praises and showers Mary with affirmations, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”
Our relatives and friends would like to hear this from us this Christmas. The year has been challenging for all of us. Things have not worked for the majority of us. Let’s not add to criticisms and judgements but accept each other as we are. To see something positive in them.
When Mary and Elizabeth met, they shared with each other the gifts God had given them. We also meet with others to share the marvellous gifts God has given us this year, no matter how little it is. We are invited to share, above all, to share the message of the child born to us. “for to us a child is born, to us a son is given …” (Is 9:6).
We pray that, like John, we may recognise the presence of Jesus when He comes to visit our situation and intervene in our life this Christmas. We also pray for the gift of authentic Elizabeths in our lives and that we may also be an Elizabeth to others.