Art Reading Scripture

The Visitation Domenico Ghirlandaio, 1491, The Louvre Paris

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, the the mother of my Lord comes to me." Luke 1:39

A very young woman and a very old woman greet each other. Unexpected, unlikely, but godly pregnancies draw them together. Two other women, not mentioned in the story, are present. Who are they? What are they there for?

Gabriel told Mary that her aged cousin Elizabeth was also expecting a rather miraculous child. Elizabeth "was said to be barren. For nothing is impossible with God." Astounded and a bit anxious about her own pregnancy Mary went to Elizabeth who had six months to reflect on her own unexpected state of being. As a young woman, Mary would not have had the freedom to travel away from home unaccompanied. Luke says Mary traveled "to a Judean town in the hill country." That would put the scene some 70 miles from Nazareth, to a place possibly overlooking Jerusalem. Ghirlandaio put Jerusalem and the Temple in the background as seen through the open gate. The two women are Mary's half sister's, Mary the mother of James and Mary Salome, associated with being present along with Mary at Jesus' crucifixion. Their presence speaks to two matters. First, they may be seen as chaperones for Mary's journey, along with others who traveled with them. (No one in the ancient world traveled alone, especially not a young woman.) Second, they foreshadowed the destiny of Mary's child, Jesus death and resurrection. Ephrem the Syrian (c. 360 CE) wrote of this meeting in terms of death and resurrection, connecting Elizabeth's dead womb with the coming of Mary's womb filled with the life of one who would bring the resurrection. "Since John could not cry out in his exultation and render witness to his Lord, his mother began to say, 'You are blessed among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.' Our Lord prepared his herald in a dead womb, to show that he came after a dead Adam. He vivified Elizabeth's womb first, and then vivified the soil of Adam through his body." Also of note, this is the first of two journey's Mary made to the Judean hill country. The second would occur nine months later when she and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem.

The focal point of the scene is the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth kneels before Mary in a position of subservience and devotion. She barely raises her eyes. Her hand reaches out to touch Mary's womb. Typically the younger should show deference to the older, but Mary Queen of Heaven and mother of our Lord takes the superior position. Mary responds by placing her hands on Elizabeth's shoulders inviting her to stand up. The faithful observers of this scene who would have knelt before it in devotion and prayer would have been comforted with the thought that Mary invited them to rise. Mary may be venerated but she was also the humble servant of the Lord. The connection between Mary and Elizabeth is woven through the coloring of their clothing. Mary and Elizabeth both have inner garments of red, while a sash of blue from Mary's outer garment drabs over Elizabeth's shoulder.

Also central to picture, appearing simply as background is the city with the temple at its peak seen through the open window or gate. As in other paintings where Jerusalem appears in the background, particularly through an opening, a gate or a window, it is symbolic of the gates of paradise that were once closed but now opened through Jesus life, death and resurrection.

Keep the faith. Say your prayers. Love like Jesus.

Pastor Tim Bauer