By Dss. NORMA P. DOLLAGA
KASIMBAYAN
August 15, 2021
Rv 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16
1 Cor 15:20-27
Lk 1:39-56
The meeting of Elizabeth and Mary was a special reunion.
It started with a peasant woman named Mary. She was betrothed to Joseph, a step nearest to marriage. Their relationship was a binding agreement between their families. It has become a public knowledge. The problem was that Mary became pregnant before her marriage to Joseph and the father of the child was someone else. No one could have imagined that this story would eventually be the story of Christmas!
Knowing that she could be punished for committing adultery, Mary was in agony. She’s gone over the situation over and over in her head. The betrothal could only be broken through a divorce or if one of the partners died. She was in a very extreme predicament because the sexual scandal might explode anytime, anywhere. Was she prepared for this?
O dear Mary
You must be blushing again
When we talk about your virginity
When juicy “gossip” spread out
About the birth of the Messiah
Words were spread, reaching the office of Herod
Thus the fascist-fool was threatened
So afraid that he ordered the killings of hundreds of boys
Making the women and men travail and refuse to be comforted
Perhaps you are still
Blushing in wonder
Asking us “What’s the fuss about my pregnancy?”
Blushing in laughter
Intriguing us about the Magnificat, a poor woman’s poem, song, and vision
Worth shaking the powers-that-be
Blushing in anger
Perhaps demanding for health services
O blessed indeed, thou blessed Mary
I love you for just being a woman of power
While patriarchy tries to reduce your image into a timid, helpless woman
We know and you know very well,
it takes courage and love to be where you had been.
Mary goes to see her cousin Elizabeth.
According to science, a mother would start to feel her baby’s movement on the 18th week of pregnancy, depending on the development and the baby’s stage of growth. The child begins to respond to stimuli. The child and a mother now have a mutual sharing of knowing and feeling each other. The baby can feel their mother’s emotions, moods, and feelings. The child’s movement inside the womb is felt when a mother pays attention. She would only feel the leaping if she is attentive, otherwise, she would not be able to become aware of it.
Mary came to Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. The latter was filled with joy and spirit that she could feel the baby inside Mary:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?”
The fruit of Mary’s womb was conceived under the state of tension and pressure. Mary was not in the most comfortable situation, and her pregnancy was beyond the understanding of the people surrounding her. Elizabeth was one of the few who must have understood her. Elizabeth already endured being barren for the longest time. And at that time, being barren did not fit the standard of womanhood. Culturally, having children was considered to be a manifestation of God’s favor ( Ex. 23:26).
Elizabeth saw the blessed Mary and the child inside her. She gave Mary a positive outlook, and defied the cultural standards of what was normative and acceptable. Truth be told, it was not Mary’s fault that she was pregnant. Elizabeth believed the child to be blessed. In the midst of Mary’s worries and feeling anxiety, Elizabeth would stand with her with affirmation and assurance that she has the support.
Elizabeth’s sense of sister-support was remarkable for she received Mary with warm welcome devoid of any self-righteous intimidation. Elizabeth knew that the child whom Mary was bearing was entitled to be protected from harm and threats. Likewise, Mary deserved to be taken care of.
The song of Mary, known as Magnificat is a radical vision coming from a peasant woman whose credibility was under question. Yet, in her deepest tension, she remained strong and articulated a prophetic vision, which the powers-that-be would find uncomfortable :
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid;
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed;
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name;
And His mercy is from generation to generation
on those who fear Him.
He has shown might with His arm,
He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and has exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has given help to Israel, his servant, mindful of His mercy
Even as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his posterity forever.(Luke 1: 46-55)
In the whole life story of Jesus, he was indeed a blessed one. He identified himself with poor and the downtrodden because the Kingdom of God belonged to them. He was one among the blessed because he envisioned a society that was the opposite of the ruling class whose power was founded in injustice and violence.
Mary was blessed, not only did because she gave birth to the Messiah Jesus but she herself was a prophet who declared in the Magnificat how a society, founded on justice and peace must look like. 
Balik-Tanaw is a group blog of Promotion of Church People’s Response. The Lectionary Gospel reflection is an invitation for meditation, contemplation, and action. As we nurture our faith by committing ourselves to journey with the people, we also wish to nourish the perspective coming from the point of view of hope and struggle of the people. It is our constant longing that even as crisis intensifies, the faithful will continue to strengthen their commitment to love God and our neighbor by being one with the people in their dreams and aspirations. The Title of the Lectionary Reflection would be Balik –Tanaw , isang PAGNINILAY . It is about looking back (balik) or revisiting the narratives and stories from the Biblical text and seeing ,reading, and reflecting on these with the current context (tanaw).
