On this second Sunday of Advent, Melissa preached from Genesis 17:15-22 and Luke 1:39-45.
Women congregating in groups is often dangerous to the powers that be. That reality is a part of this long history of keeping women from trying to find their way to one another.
We don’t know much about Mary from the Gospels. One thing we learned about Mary here is that she takes off for a visit to her cousin Elizabeth after the shameful discovery of a pregnancy before marriage, a pregnancy that is threatening to make her a social outcast. Elizabeth, herself pregnant, welcomes Mary and offers Mary a blessing.
Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Luke 1:42
Elizabeth is the first person in the Gospel of Luke to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
This is a work that crosses time, which is why the gospeler gathers together Hannah and Miriam and Judith and Sarah, and Hagar and Deborah all around this greeting. We too are participants in this joyful band of resistance that takes place in their bodies. We too are drawn into community when we come together to worship. This day and each time we gather.
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