The Visitation

Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat

⁴⁶And Mary said,

^CA)">(CA) "My^CB)">(CB) soul^CC)">(CC) magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷^CD)">(CD) and my^CE)">(CE) spirit rejoices in^CF)">(CF) God my Savior,
⁴⁸for^CG)">(CG) he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations^CH)">(CH) will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for^CI)">(CI) he who is mighty^CJ)">(CJ) has done great things for me,
and^CK)">(CK) holy is his name.
⁵⁰And^CL)">(CL) his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
⁵¹^CM)">(CM) He has shown strength with his arm;
^CN)">(CN) he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²^CO)">(CO) he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
^CP)">(CP) and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled^CQ)">(CQ) the hungry with good things,
and the rich^CR)">(CR) he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has^CS)">(CS) helped^CT)">(CT) his servant Israel,
^CU)">(CU) in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵^CV)">(CV) as he spoke to our fathers,
^CW)">(CW) to Abraham and to his offspring forever."

From Treasury of Daily Prayer:

John the Baptizer and Jesus, the two great figures of salvation history, now come together in the visit to Elizabeth by the Virgin Mary (Luke 1: 39-45), both of whom conceived their children under miraculous circumstances. Thus John is brought into the presence of Jesus while they are still in their mothers' wombs. This presence of the Lord causes a response by the child John as he leaps in Elizabeth's womb. John's response to the presence of Jesus, the Messiah, foreshadows John's own role as forerunner. Already now, a new creation is beginning, and a baby still in the womb hails the new creation's inception. Foreshadowed in John's leap are the miracles of Jesus, who will cause all creation to leap at His presence: "The blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them" (Luke 7:22). The incarnate presence of the Messiah also evokes a response from Elizabeth, who proclaims Mary's blessedness. Mary's Magnificat (Luke 1: 45-55) provides the theological significance of this meeting as Mary sums up her place in salvation history. Mary's song is a hymn to God for His gracious gifts to the least in this world, whom He has lifted up out of lowliness solely because of His grace and mercy.

When I read this during my morning devotions today I knew I just had to share it. Whenever I've read/heard this story of the visitation, the emphasis always seems to be on the encounter between the two women with the mention of John's reaction. But it's more than that. It's Jesus and John meeting for the first time. It's John's excitement that his work is about to begin. (And from the look of Elizabeth in that picture up there, none too soon!) John hears (as many babies still in the womb do) the voice of his relative, Mary. He knows already that she bears his Messiah. He can't contain himself and just lets loose with a whoop and a holler! (OK, we have to imagine that one, but if he was jumping, wouldn't he probably have gotten a mouthful of amniotic fluid as well?)

This story also shows the importance of mothers in making sure their children hear the Word of God from early on. Even in the womb.