We have finally arrived at the final Sunday of Advent. When we gather together on Wednesday we will come to celebrate Christmas and thus the birth of the Messiah. It is for His coming among us that we have been longing and preparing during this season. Hopefully we will continue to remain on guard in order that we may always come to receive Him with joy.
Our Gospel gave us the account of the Visitation. It is here that Mary went in haste to be with her cousin, Elizabeth, who was found to be with child. Elizabeth exclaimed, “blessed is the fruit of your womb” and Saint John the Baptist “leaped for joy” within her womb. As Elizabeth understood in her question, “that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
It must be understood that Elizabeth as well as John the Baptist came to receive a great gift in this encounter. They had received the one into their midst whom they had been longing for. Soon Saint John the Baptist would be born and he would serve as the precursor to the Messiah in order that others may also be found ready to receive Him with joy.
Elizabeth was a person of great faith who lived a righteous life. She placed her trust in God no matter the hardship set before her and through such faithfulness she conceived her son in her old age even thou she was once thought to be barren. She lived her life with preparation for this day when she would encounter the Messiah.
It is Christ who remains at the heart of this Gospel. He is the God who has taken on our human flesh and made His dwelling place among us. This is the Messiah for whom the world has longed and the prophets have pointed towards. All of the world throughout its history has been made ready for this encounter.
As we transition into the season of Christmas we must continue to prepare the way in order that we may encounter Him with joy. There is so much in this life that we allow to get in the way of such a reception. No matter what we must undergo in this life we must always remember that it is Christ who is at the heart of this season as it is Christ who is at the heart of the Visitation.
Christ must be the one for whom our life is lived. All that we do should flow from this relationship that we have with Him. This is truly what could be said of Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Mary. They lived their life in preparation for the Messiah and continued to live their life oriented towards Christ. Let us live accordingly in order that Christ may always remain at the center of our life.
