I grew up in a family that took driving vacations. It helped that there are twenty years between my oldest and youngest siblings. I don’t think my parents could afford a vehicle capable of carrying eight people, and the station wagon was usually crowded as it was. Nevertheless, I fondly remember road trips sitting behind my dad as he took us on numerous adventures.
As an adult, I’ve traveled more miles on airplanes than on roads. I earned Delta’s million-mile status decades ago. But, honestly, I prefer road trips. Flying over places is no comparison to driving through them. While I’m a planner, Cyndi and I depend almost exclusively on GPS technology to help us reach our destination after numerous reroutes from side trips that weren’t in our plans.
However, we haven’t taken any overnight road trips this year. With a home to build and livestock to care for, we’ve kept our trips to places we can reach and return from on the same day. This may be one reason road trips have been on my mind this Christmas season. I missed seeing my siblings this past year and the adventures Cyndi and I have when we travel.
The media is another reason for thinking about road trips. News stories about crowded highways and airports warn travelers to plan ahead, get an early start, and expect delays. It’s estimated that 75% of people living in the U.S. planned to take at least one road trip this year. The vast majority were under 100 miles, however.
All this talk about road trips is a sad reminder of the damage we do to our environment by using personal vehicles. By 2022, the U.S. was using over 368 million gallons daily to fuel personal vehicles.
On the other hand, there is a good reason to think about road trips during Advent. The Christmas story seems incomplete without young Mary’s visit to her relative, Elizabeth.
Let me catch you up. First, an angel visits Mary, who is engaged to Joseph, telling her she will have a child, but her fiance isn’t the father. Elizabeth, who is past her childbearing years, is pregnant. Zechariah, Elizabeth’s husband, learned that his wife would have a son despite her age. And that their son would prepare the way for the Messiah.
Mary leaves Nazareth on a road trip. God’s call on Mary’s life asked her to risk the future she had dreamed of from early childhood. To risk normalcy and to risk it all for a promise.
Luke says that Mary was perplexed by the angel’s message. Perplexed can mean to be completely baffled. She was a teenager. Of course, Mary was perplexed! Imagine what happened immediately after Mary’s conversation with the angel and how she must have felt. Wow! What just happened? Was that what I thought it was? Now what?
We don’t know what happened between the angel’s visit and Mary’s departure. Surely, she told her mother about the news, but we don’t know. Perhaps she chose to keep it a secret from everyone except Joseph. Either way, Mary had some heavy thinking to do.
It’s no wonder Mary headed out of town to visit Elizabeth. Nazareth was a small town, she was pregnant, and the explanation was beyond bizarre. Perhaps she heard word that Elizabeth was also pregnant. Given Elizabeth’s age and the uniqueness of her pregnancy, the news likely took a road trip of its own.
How far did she travel? Luke doesn’t tell us for certain. In the verse following what was read, we know that she stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months, likely until John was born.
Experts estimate that Zechariah and Elizabeth lived around 100 miles from Mary’s family. We presume Mary’s family arranged for her to travel with a caravan headed towards Jerusalem, near the town where her relatives lived.
How happy you are to believe that the Lord’s message to you will come true!
Luke 1:39-45
Some scholars suggest that she may have composed the Magnificat while she traveled. Perhaps Mary kept a diary. I think Mary was taught Hannah’s prayer as a child. Perhaps a shortened version, her Mother sang to her, and she knew the verses by heart.
Living centuries later and having Luke’s book as a reference, we know how the story ends. But Mary had only a tiny glimpse of her future. She would ask Elizabeth for advice. And Elizabeth had incredible news of her own. It’s likely neither had made the connection in advance.
On the other hand, Luke hints that Elizabeth has already figured it out. Had Mary’s news reached Elizabeth ahead of her?
Luke tells us that when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, her baby moved, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She shouts toward the sound of Mary’s voice, “You are the most blessed of all women, and blessed is the child you will bear!”
Elizabeth tells Mary her baby jumped with gladness. Did her child also know that their first meeting would not be their last? Luke tells us Elizabeth was overjoyed when she heard Mary’s voice. And apparently, Mary had gotten the hang of the idea of what was to happen to her, and she really liked it. Mary felt at peace. Gone were the worries about what was going to happen. God was in charge.
For now, Mary could enjoy her time with Elizabeth.
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A reminder that we publish this newsletter that we call the Circuit Rider each week. You can request this publication by email. Send a request to FlintAsburyUMC@gmail.com or let us know when you send a message through our website. We post an archive of past editions on our website under the tab Connect – choose Newsletters.
Pastor Tommy
Parts of our series are inspired by the Reverend Dawn Darwin Weak. Daring to Connect: Advent as Adventure. Danvers, MA: Chalice Press, 2024.