Thoughts on Friday’s Text
First is Elizabeth, cousin of Mary, wife of Zechariah (a temple priest in Jerusalem), and mother of John the Baptist. Elizabeth was, like her foremothers Sarah (from the Genesis cycle) and Hannah (from 1 Samuel), unable to have children; until the unexpected birth of John. Elizabeth is not just important because of her family relationships, however. When she greets her pregnant cousin Mary she is filled with the Holy Spirit, and “exclaimed with a loud cry … ” This phrase in Greek means to shout as though one is using a mega-phone, literally a “big” or “mega” voice. This is how Elizabeth speaks a prophetic word to Mary, and so to us — in her outdoor voice.