Episode Transcript
CONSECRATION
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.
Jesus, I belong to you.
I lift up my heart to you.
I set my mind on you.
I fix my eyes on you.
I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice.
Jesus, we belong to you.
Praying in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.
SCRIPTURE
Luke 1:39–45 NIV
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
CONSIDER THIS
It’s no secret that the best experiences in life are shared with those we love.
I recently saw a video on social media of two sisters surprising one another with the news they were both pregnant. As it should, the video ended with squeals, tears, laughter, and jumping up and down together.
The shared experience of being pregnant at the same time as a close friend or relative is undeniably special. In Mary and Elizabeth’s case, their pregnancies were both miraculous and as a direct result of God’s personal and cosmic promises.
Yet, they were also markedly different. Elizabeth, significantly older, had longed for a child for years, and endured much heartache and waiting. Mary, likely a teenager, was unexpectedly pregnant before marriage, a situation ripe for misunderstanding and judgment.
Elizabeth could have responded to her young cousin with bitterness or criticism. Instead, her reaction was one of overwhelming joy and blessing.
How? “Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 41).
The Spirit superseded human instinct and filled Elizabeth with joy. She was empowered to respond to the reality of the moment these two women were in. The Spirit superseded human knowledge and gave Elizabeth the knowledge of God. She declares Mary is “the mother of my Lord” (v. 43).
Here we see the little community of hope that began when the Spirit overshadowed Mary and the angel told her about her cousin’s pregnancy, developing into a larger community of joy, including the two of them and the children in their wombs.
This story is a beautiful example of an intergenerational friendship, empowered and created by the Spirit. Elizabeth considers herself favored to be visited by Mary and rejoices in what God is doing in and through her. Mary responds in joy as well, singing the Magnificat we read at the end of our focus on hope.
Both of these women together celebrate the broader work of God, His faithfulness to generations, and to one another. Their story invites us to do the same—to rejoice not only in what God is doing in our own lives but also to celebrate His work in the lives of others, even when they are younger (or older) than us.
The Spirit desires to fill us and empower us for this work. Through the power of the Spirit, we can affirm and encourage one another in faith, knowing that God’s promises are always best enjoyed together.
RESPONSE PROMPTS
Who are you in friendship with in a different generation than you (older or younger)? How can you bless them and encourage them in what God is doing in their life?
PRAYER
Holy Spirit, fill me and empower me to bless what You are doing in the lives of those around me. Help me to develop friendships across generations and knit us together in hope and joy for Your unfolding promises and purposes in the world. Amen.
