Faithful companions

The church service at Resurrection this weekend was about Mary’s visit to Elizabeth. For some reason, this is one of the very few times I’ve ever heard an Advent sermon that talked about Elizabeth. However, I’ve probably only noticed this lack of shout-outs to her because she is my namesake, and sometimes I can be self-absorbed like that . . . okay, a lot of the time.

With that admitted, let’s talk about me for a while, shall we? I went by the name of Elizabeth when I was a child, but sometime during the high-school years, I think, I decided to go by the nickname Liz, although I can’t quite recall why. Perhaps I thought “Liz” sounded cooler, or maybe I was just being lazy and didn’t want to have to write out so many letters every time I had to sign something. My brothers, being the sweethearts that they are, used to come up with their own variations of my name, such as “Elizabutt” or “Elizablah” or “Lizard Breath,” so maybe I was trying to circumvent their teasing. I don’t know for sure, but it was probably some combination of these things that prompted me to eschew my full name, and most people now know me as Liz.

I recently decided to go back to my real name, however, and a few weeks ago I started making the transition back to Elizabeth. The main reason for this is because I like the significance of the name, which means “God’s promise” or “God’s oath” in Hebrew. Also, I like what the biblical Elizabeth represents, even though it kind of sucks for her that she had to wait so long to have a child. . . . Come to think of it, I’d rather not have to be that patient (not that I want children anytime soon--I'm in no rush for that--but just having to be that patient about anything), so maybe I should just stick with my nickname. Seriously, though, Elizabeth’s patience is a model for trusting in God’s timing and remaining faithful, even when it may seem too late or rather hopeless. So, I know it’s just a name, but it serves as a good reminder to me. Patience is a virtue, after all (and one that I’m not always so good at).

Anyhow, as fascinating a subject as I am (please note: sarcasm), let’s get back to Mary’s visit to Elizabeth, as told here in Luke 1:39-56 (NLT):

³⁹ A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town ⁴⁰ where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

⁴² Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. ⁴³ Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? ⁴⁴ When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. ⁴⁵ You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.”

⁴⁶ Mary responded,

“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
⁴⁷ How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
⁴⁸ For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
⁴⁹ For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
⁵⁰ He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
⁵¹ His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
⁵² He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
⁵⁵ For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”

⁵⁶ Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

Several things stand out to me from this part of the narrative, but for this post I'm going to touch on the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth. . .

Mary was only a few days pregnant when she set out to visit Elizabeth. At this very early stage in her pregnancy, Mary couldn’t actually verify that she was, indeed, pregnant; she wouldn’t have put on any significant amount of weight or be showing at this time, and it was too early for there to be any movement or anything like that from her womb. And it’s not like she just could go down to the drugstore and discreetly buy a home pregnancy test to make sure that she, a virgin, had truly conceived, verifying for her that her visit from Gabriel wasn’t just some strange dream or figment of her imagination. Thus, at this point, from outside appearances, she hadn’t changed, even though much was changing from within her as the incarnation of Christ developed in her womb.

She was probably feeling scared and uncertain about her future as she headed off to see Elizabeth. Can you imagine the swarm of emotions she must have been experiencing? She was just told that the Holy Spirit impregnated her with the Son of God. Try to imagine what that must have felt like. I mean, no pressure or anything, so just chillax, Mary.

Sure.

And if that little tidbit of news weren’t unnerving enough, eventually she would have to explain why she was pregnant to her fiancée, not to mention everyone else in town. Would they think she was crazy, as well as immoral?

But before Mary even had a chance to tell her she was pregnant, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and greeted Mary with unabashed praise, proclaiming her to be the blessed mother of God. This probably gave Mary a sense of assurance that she was bearing the Incarnation, and that it was God’s good and perfect will for her (and all of humanity). Those words of encouragement from Elizabeth procured the Magnificat.

In the sermon from this weekend, Elizabeth was shown as an example for the importance of companionship, mentors, and giving words of praise and kindness to others. Elizabeth was whom Mary trusted to go to after becoming impregnated. Somehow she must have known that Elizabeth was a safe person for her.

Like Mary, we all need these kinds of people in our lives -- those trusted companions we can go to in our most challenging times. Someone with whom we can let down our guards and just be “real” about whatever is going on in our lives, and vice versa. Pastor Adam described these as intentional friendships where you grow in Christ together. God-centered friendships. These are the kind of friends who want what’s best for you, even if it inconveniences them. These friends are delighted to see you grow in Christ, and will be there for you with words of encouragement and kindness whenever you’re scared or struggling.

These are what I call true friendships, and these invaluable friends are a gift from God. And they are rare. I have a lot of people I call “friends,” but very few people in my life who fit the true-friend description above. When it comes down to it, most people are friends by name, but just acquaintances by actions: people I can go out and be social with and keep things on a fairly superficial level. And that’s okay, because not everyone can realistically be a trusted-companion type of friend to everyone else.

True friends that encourage each other to grow in Christ are rare, indeed. But when you find one, it’s truly a blessing. And, though I wish more of my friendships could be like this, I consider myself incredibly blessed to know that I do have a couple of people in my life who are these kinds of friends. They are my Elizabeths.