Advent Journey

Week 3: Joy in God’s Faithfulness

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. – Luke 1:46

When Mary arrived at Elizabeth’s home, she carried a secret no one else yet understood. Her body had become the dwelling place of God. It was beautiful and it was unbelievable. What would Joseph say? Her neighbours? Even her own family?

In Luke 1:39-45 we see that before anyone could question, dismiss, or shame her, Elizabeth believed her.

Elizabeth, herself a woman of miracle and marginalization, felt the child within her leap with joy. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she named what few would dare: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child you will bear.” It was the first public affirmation of the incarnation and it came from the lips of a woman.

This is the quiet miracle of their meeting. A simple story of two pregnant women talking in a home becomes something revolutionary as they recognize the work that God is doing through them. Elizabeth believed Mary, and that’s still important.

Advent joy is born not from certainty, but from solidarity. It grows when we believe one another’s stories, when we hold space for mystery, when we recognize that divine life still pulses through ordinary flesh. Elizabeth’s joy was contagious because it came from connection—her belief allowed another woman’s courage to take root.

To believe with another woman is to join the work of incarnation—to midwife joy into being.

Taylor Scott-Reimer
Author of She Believed: Recovering the Fierce Faith
of the Women in Scripture – and Ourselves. | Barrie, ON

Prayer:

God of our homes and kitchens, teach us to bless before we judge, to believe before we understand. Make us Elizabeths, ready to recognize Your presence in the lives of those the world ignores. Let our words leap with joy, and our friendships become the fertile ground of resistance to the empire. Amen.

Reflection:

Before reacting to another’s story, pause. When someone shares a dream or fear, bless before you analyze. Whisper, “Blessed are you who believed.” Notice how that prayer changes the space between you. The miracle of Advent continues when belief takes flesh in us again and again.