December 16: Elizabeth's Great Joy in Blessing Mary
♫ Music:
Title: ELIZABETH’S GREAT JOY IN BLESSING MARY
Scripture: Luke 1: 39-45
Now at this time Mary arose and went in a hurry to the hill country, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. And she cried out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
ELIZABETH’S GREAT JOY IN BLESSING MARY
Have you ever experienced the precious gift of fellowship with someone that warms your soul and brings light and encouragement during times of confusion? God in His kindness orchestrated a sweet communion between Mary and Elizabeth as recorded in the gospel of Luke. Both women had experienced beautiful and mysterious disruptions in their lives. In isolation they had pondered the disorientation and reality of each of their pregnancies that was foretold by the angel Gabriel. Elizabeth, who “remained in seclusion” pondered the Lord’s work as her husband silently watched God’s plan unfold for their son. Mary must have questioned and contemplated that night that Gabriel appeared and the miraculous conception. Neither could fully comprehend God’s glorious plan or their part in the bigger story.
I love the picture of the joy of communion between two women. “Framed in light” as Luci Shaw describes in her poem. Suddenly Elizabeth and Mary are blessed with a sweet season which is characterized by the empathy, warmth, and compassion that true God-ordained fellowship brings. And in this moment, the Lord confirms His work in their lives through each other. John leaps in Elizabeth’s womb at their embrace, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth speaks a message of encouragement and blessing to young Mary, acknowledging her as “the mother of my Lord.” I imagine that her words must have brought a supernatural peace to calm Mary’s fears and quiet her wonderings. In His kindness God saw the needs of two souls, and allowed the women to be connected, to walk out their stories together.
Much like the Cantiga 41 Virgen, Madre de Nostro Sennor composed by Jordi Savall and Pedro Estevan begins as a bittersweet melody and crescendos into a lively and optimistic song, so were the lives of Mary and Elizabeth as they were joined in blessed fellowship. God in His kindness knew that these women, though full of faith, needed each other. He knew that as they came together this would result in comfort for their souls and a strengthening of their faith. I’d like to believe that blessed moment together overflowed to lives around them. Arcabus in The Visitation portrayed Zacharias peering out towards the women and in his own silent pondering watched the joy that his wife experienced while connecting with Mary. He must have been encouraged as he heard Elizabeth’s words “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Prayer:
I pray that in this season of Advent that God in His kindness would bless you with moments of sweet fellowship with others. As you ponder the dreams and the mysterious and beautiful disruptions that the Lord has brought into your own life, may He bring individuals to speak words of peace and blessing to you. May He also give you eyes to see the needs of those around you, and may you be used to bring light and encouragement to others.
Amen
Suzanne Welty
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Biola University
For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, we have provided resources under the “About” tab located next to the “Devotional” tab.
About the Artwork:
The Visitation
Arcabas
c. 1995-1997
Oil on canvas
The greeting of Mary and Elizabeth is a joyful glimpse into the heart of God. Both women who have conceived through faith in the promises of God, comfort and encourage one another. The two babes, represented by golden crosses, are also aware of this miraculous, moment. Meanwhile, Zachariah stands in the shadows of the doorway, unable to speak because of his unbelief.
About the Artist:
Jean-Marie Pirot, known as Arcabas (1926-2018), was a contemporary, French artist, best-known for his paintings, which feature biblical characters and scenes. He also worked in sculpture, engraving, tapestry, mosaic, cabinetry, and theater scenery and costumes. Arcabas graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He undertook various commissions for the French government and local authorities, but his magnum opus is the Ensemble d'art Sacré Contemporain in the Church of Saint Hugues-de- Chartreuse, begun in 1953 and completed in 1986. For over forty years, Arcabas created all the artwork that now adorns the church’s interior, including murals, canvases, stained glass, brass-work, and sculpture. In 1970, he completed the panoramic stained glass design in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Alpe d'Huez. He also worked in close collaboration with his son, a sculptor known as Etienne, designing the liturgical furnishings of other churches and cathedrals. His international recognition and reputation has grown exponentially in recent years.
http://www.arcabas.com/biographie/index.php#
About the Music:
“Cantiga 41: Virgen, Madre de Nostro Sennor” from the album Orient Occident II: Hommage a la Syrie (Tribute to Syria)
About the Composer:
Traditional Syrian
Syria, one of the countries where Christianity originated, has a long history of church music. The Syrian chant continues to be the liturgical music of various Syrian Christians and is the oldest in the world. Folk music of Syria is, for the most part, based on the oud, a stringed instrument considered to be the ancestor of the European lute.
About the Performers:
Jordi Savall and Pedro Estevan
Jordi Savall (b 1941) is a Spanish conductor and viol player. He has been one of the major figures in the field of Western early music since the 1970s, largely responsible for popularizing the viol family of instruments in contemporary performance and recording. His characteristic repertoire features Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque music, although he has occasionally ventured into the Classical and Romantic periods. In 1974 he formed the ensemble Hespèrion XX (now Hespèrion XXI), together with his wife soprano Montserrat Figueras, Lorenzo Alpert, and Hopkinson Smith. More recently, Savall has performed with family members and his two children, Arianna and Ferran. Arianna plays the harp and sings and Ferran plays the theorbo (bass lute) and sings.
https://www.alia-vox.com/en/artists/jordi-savall/
Pedro Estevan (b. 1951) is a Spanish percussionist. He studied percussion at the Superior de Musica Conservatory in Madrid, Spain, where he specialized in contemporary music. He was an enthusiastic member of many jazz groups and performed on stage at several theatres. Together with Maria Villa and Suso Saiz, he founded groups such as Orquesta de las Nubes, Ranfonia, and Panku. Pedro Estevan has been a member of the Hespèrion XXI and Le Concert des Nations since 1968. He combines all his musical performances with his teaching career at the ESMUC Music School (Escola Superior de Música de Catalunia).
http://www.marenostrum-film.ch/en/pedro-estevan-spanien/
About the Poet:
Luci Shaw (b. 1928) is a Christian poet who studied at Wheaton College, Illinois, and is now Writer-in-Residence at Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She lectures on art and spirituality, the Christian imagination, poetry, writing, and journaling as an aid to artistic and spiritual growth. She has published ten volumes of poetry and numerous non-fiction books; and she has edited and collaborated on multiple other works, including several with her dear late friend, Madeleine L'Engle. Shaw usually works in free verse and her poems are usually short. For over 60 years Shaw has had a tradition of sending Advent greetings to friends and family and with each year’s greeting she often includes a new Advent poem.
https://www.lucishaw.com/
About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Suzanne Welty
Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Biola University
Suzanne Welty is an Associate Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Biola University who earned her EdD in Educational Leadership, Teaching and Learning from Azusa Pacific University. Welty specializes in diagnosing and remediating communication, behavioral and social challenges of individuals diagnosed with Autism and other developmental disabilities. In addition, Welty has a passion for missions and has spent many summers in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany, and finds joy in visiting, praying for, and encouraging those who are serving Christ world-wide.