Homilies on Luke

Homily 7. Luke 1.39-45

HOMILY 7 Luke I.39-45 On the passagefrom, "But Mary rose up in haste and went into the mountain country, " up to the point where it says, "He will be thefuifillment ofwhat has been said. " ETTER MEN GO toweaker men to give them some advantage by their visits.! Thus the Savior came to John to sanctifYJohn's baptism.' And as soon as Mary heard the angel announce that she would conceive the Savior and that her relative Elizabeth had a child in her womb, "she rose up in haste and went into the mountain country, and entered Elizabeth's house.,,3Jesus was in her womb, and he hastened to sanctifYJohn, who was still in his own mother's womb. That is, before Mary came and greeted Elizabeth, the infant did not rejoice in her womb. But, as soon as Mary spoke the word that the Son of God, in his mother's womb, had supplied, "the infant leapt injoy."4 At that momentJesus made his forerunner a prophet for the first time. 2. Mary was the one most suitable to bear God's Son. Mter the angel spoke to her, it was also appropriate for her to go up to the mountain country and to stay in the higher regions. Hence Scripture says, "Mary rose up in those days and went into the mountain country.'" She was eager, and not slothfu1.6 Thus it was right for her to hasten on eagerly. She was filled with the Holy Spirit; it was appropriate for her to be led to the I. Cf. Ambrose, Exposition ofthe Gospel AccoTding to Luke 2.22. 2. Cf. Lk 3.21. 3· Lk 1·39· 4- Lk 1.40 -41. 5· Lk 1.39· 6. Cf. Rom 12.11 . 28 HOMILY 7 29 higher regions and have God's power protecting her, for that power had already overshadowed her. Hence she went "into the city ofJudah, and Zechariah's house, and she greeted Elizabeth . And it happened that, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leapt in her womb, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit."7 3. So there is no doubt on this point. Elizabeth, who was filled with the Holy Spirit at that moment, received the Spirit on account ofher son.8 For the mother did not merit the Holy Spirit first. FirstJohn, still enclosed in her womb, received the Holy Spirit. Then she too, after her son was sanctified, was filled with the Holy Spirit. You will be able to believe this ifyou also learn something similar about the Savior. (In a certain number ofmanuscripts, we have discovered that blessed Mary is said to prophesy. We are not unaware ofthe fact that, according to other copies of the Gospel, Elizabeth speaks these words in prophecy.)9 So Mary also was filled with the Holy Spirit when she began to carry the Savior in her womb. For, as soon as she received the Holy Spirit, who was the creator of the Lord's body, and the Son of God began to exist in her wornb, she too was filled with the Holy Spirit. 4. Therefore "the infant in [Elizabeth's] womb leapt, and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out in a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women.""o At this point we ought to refute the heretics' usual objections;" otherwise some simpler people might be deceived. Someone or other gave vent to his madness and claimed that the Savior had repudiated Mary because she had been joined to Joseph after his birth." This is what he said. I hope he knows what the state of his mind was when he said it. Ifheretics ever raise an objection like this to you, answer them and say, "Elizabeth surely was 7. Lk 1.40-41. 8. Cf. Ambrose, Exposition ofthe Gospel According to Luke 2.23. g. Origen is right. Some manuscripts assign the Magnificat to Mary, while others attribute it to Elizabeth. Modern critics believe that the original editor meant it to be Mary's words. 10. Lk 1.4 1-42. 11. The identity of these heretics is uncertain. 12. Cf. Mt 1.25 and 12.48. 30 ORIGEN filled with the Holy Spirit when she said, 'Blessed are you among women.'!:] If the Holy Spirit called Mary 'blessed,' how could the Savior repudiate her?" Furthermore, they assert that Mary had...