Luke 1:39-45

Song of Solomon 2:8-14 or Zephaniah 3:14-18a

Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21

Luke 1:39-45

Mary set out in those days

and traveled to the hill country in haste

to a town of Judah,

where she entered the house of Zechariah

and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,

the infant leaped in her womb,

and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,

cried out in a loud voice and said,

“Most blessed are you among women,

and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

And how does this happen to me,

that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,

the infant in my womb leaped for joy.

Blessed are you who believed

that what was spoken to you by the Lord

would be fulfilled.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, my soul waits for you. You are my help and my shield. My heart rejoices in you and I trust in your holy name.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Journey of the New Ark: The Gospel of Luke portrays Mary in its opening chapter as the New Ark of the Covenant. Yesterday, we read the account of the Annunciation, where Gabriel spoke about the Power of God overshadowing Mary. This recalls how the cloud of God’s glory overshadowed the old Ark of the Covenant. In today’s Gospel passage, we read that Mary “arose and went with haste” (ESV) to the hill country of Judah. When she greeted Elizabeth, John leapt in Elizabeth’s womb, and Elizabeth cried out with joy. “This echoes the great event when David ‘arose’ and ‘went’ with the Ark of the Covenant up into the hill country of Judah, to Jerusalem itself, and there he leapt with joy before the Ark as the procession entered the city. Mary is like a new Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments (the Word of God), the manna (bread from heaven), and the staff of Aaron, the high priest. Jesus, in Mary’s womb, was the Word of God, the bread from heaven, and our true high priest” (Bergsma, New Testament Basics for Catholics, 95).

2. The Mercy Seat of the Ark: The purpose of the old Ark of the Covenant was to be a sign of the Lord God’s presence among his people as they traveled through the desert. The golden cover of the Ark was overshadowed by carved cherubim and was called the “mercy seat” (kapporet) and “place of expiation.” Every year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat to expiate the sins of the people and restore them to fellowship with the Lord (Leviticus 16:1-34). In Romans 3:25, Paul identifies Jesus as the mercy seat and expiation for our sins. Jesus is the living seat of God’s presence and the place where atonement for our sins is made with his own sacrificial blood (see Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament, 262). As the New Ark, Mary’s womb acts for nine months as the place of the new mercy seat. While the old Ark was a sign of God’s presence, the new Ark contains not just a sign of God’s presence but holds and nourishes the Incarnate Son of God in her womb. God truly tabernacles among us in the womb of Mary!

3. The Song of Daughter Zion: In the reading from Zephaniah, the prophet invites the people to shout for joy and sing joyfully. He uses the twin expressions “Daughter Zion” and “Daughter Jerusalem.” These expressions are a way of personifying the city of Jerusalem and its people. The city of Jerusalem is described by the prophets either as a virgin daughter (Lamentations 1:15) or as a mother (Lamentations 1:5-6). “Either way, Jerusalem is the object of the Lord’s affection and care. She is called to rejoice in the presence of the God who lives in her midst (Zephaniah 3:14; Zechariah 2:10) and who comes to rescue her from captivity (Isaiah 52:2; 62:11)” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Minor Prophets, 124). Zephaniah presents Daughter Zion as a royal bride who is waiting for her royal husband to come and bring salvation. The Lord is likened by the prophet to a warrior-king who renews his love and affection for Jerusalem. The Lord, the bridegroom king and warrior, will gather his humble remnant into the holy city of Jerusalem and restore its fortunes. Zephaniah hopes that communion between God and his people will be restored through liturgical worship in Zion (Jerusalem). By reading Zephaniah’s song during Advent, the Church anticipates the second glorious coming of our Bridegroom King, who, through his first coming in the flesh, assumed our lowly human nature.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you have brought mercy to this fallen world. I need to be more merciful, just as your heavenly Father is merciful. Move my heart to forgive always and work purposefully toward true reconciliation.

Living the Word of God: Do I know how to break out in songs of joy in prayer? What has God done in my life that is a cause for rejoicing? Am I grateful for the success I have had in my business? Do I embrace Jesus’ principle, “To whom much has been given, much will be required”?