9 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!”

Luke 1:39-45 - World English Bible

Luke was an interesting author. While writing in an elegant style of the educated elite, he raised up the outcast and forgotten over his own peers. Mary, the mother of Jesus symbolized the poor, the powerless and the ignored in society. The Annunciation was a case in point.

When the angel Gabriel greeted Mary, she reacted in an appropriate social manner. Confronted in private, Mary wondered why she was greeted (young girls were considered to be too insignificant to greet). She also feared from the implications of the greeting. (Were her honor and the honor of her family compromised?) [1:29] The news would not get better for her. The angel proposed a conception and birth that could endanger her arranged marriage with Joseph and put her life at risk. (According to Deuteronomy 22:20-21, a girl who was not a virgin before marriage could be stoned to death. No wonder she defended her honor!) [1:34]

To overcome Mary's concern, the angel proclaimed her honor before God. She was highly favored by the Almighty. [1:28, 30]. And her son would by highly favored by God, for God would give him a title, and intimate relationship, and royal power over his people that would never end. [1:32-33]. Notice God gave her honor with his presence [1:28b] and with a mission [1:31]. The Lord would also honor her when he was present to her child and gave him a mission. (In ancient society, women could not have honor on their own; they could only stand in the honor of their husbands and sons. Hence, there was the important connection between Mary's honor and that of her Son.)

Luke used an insignificant meeting between two pregnant women in order to connect to two of the most important movements in first century Judaism: the followers of John the Baptist and the disciples of Jesus.

John (and his lineage) represented the end of the Old Testament prophets. He was an unusual desert wanderer who preached from conviction and reckless abandon; his speech and lifestyle summed up the prophetic tradition in Judaism.

John's elderly father, Zechariah, represented Judaism and its priestly tradition. Judaism did mediate God to his people, but its ancient character stifled novelty. Hence, presented with a new revelation about his desired son, the priest Zechariah was struck speechless.

However, John's elderly mother, Elizabeth, represented the open, trusting tradition of the female in Judaism. Just as the elderly Sarah became the mother of Isaac and the old Hannah became the mother of Samuel, Elizabeth could receive and rejoice in the birth of a son, even at an old age.

The Blessed Virgin Mary represented a new revelation. God was entering the human stage not only with a new message, but in a completely new way! Through Mary, the Lord was visiting his people.

So the scene was set. Mary traveled to the clan (i.e., "house") of Zachariah and greeted the matriarch of the clan, Elizabeth. [40] No doubt the greeting was formal, for Mary was from a related clan. But Luke turned tradition on its head. Instead of the elderly woman receiving honor from the younger, the tables were turned; Mary was honored (along with her Son). [42-45]

Because of her age, Elizabeth should have been the one who received the attention of maternity. But Mary received praise because she believed in the new revelation. [45] Now, Elizabeth (and her son), too, believed because the Spirit acted. [41]

Notice the themes of exaltation and humility. Through the figure of Elizabeth, Luke humbled the old tradition in a time that honored ancient revelation. Through the figure of Mary, he exalted the new revelation. Through the meeting, he bridged the old to the new. From this moment on, Luke would exalt Jesus and diminish John's role. For Luke, the time of Judaism had past; the time of Christianity had dawned.

How do you cling to the old, yet welcome the new? How does that attitude affect your faith?