Make Haste

When we hear today’s gospel being proclaimed, two words should stand out to us - “in haste”. Mary traveled IN HASTE through the hill country of Judah to visit with her cousin Elizabeth.

Why is Our Lady in such a hurry? Her cousin is only six months pregnant. There are still three months before she will need Mary’s help with her delivery and with taking care of her infant. Why would Mary make it a point of rushing to be with her?

The answer is found in the words of the angel Gabriel when he announces to Mary that she will be the mother of the Messiah. As a sign of God’s mighty power, he says to her, “And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived^* a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.” Mary knew that Elizabeth was well beyond the years when she could become pregnant. When she heard the angel's words, she must have wondered to herself, “Can it be true? Can my cousin who has longed for a child for so many years finally be pregnant in her old age? And if she can become pregnant well after her childbearing years, then isn’t it possible that I can become pregnant even though I am a virgin?”

Mary traveled in haste to the hill country of Judah to see for herself God’s promise being fulfilled. The angel offered her a sign - that her cousin was pregnant in her old age - and Mary, with full confidence that the word spoken to her was true, went to witness the miracle for herself. Not only does she go to see God’s mighty work in action but also to celebrate with Elizabeth the wonders God had worked in their lives.

Somehow, Elizabeth is aware that Mary is carrying within her the Messiah. Perhaps the Holy Spirit revealed it to her. In any case, she says to Mary, “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Though it is impossible that a virgin or an old woman can become pregnant, Mary believed that God could make it happen. She believed that God kept His promises. And so, she made haste to witness for herself God’s mighty deeds in action and to celebrate His faithfulness.

Advent is a season for recognizing and celebrating the fulfillment of God’s promises. He promised the people of Israel that He would send them a Messiah and, true to His word, our Savior Jesus Christ was born. He promised to free us from our sins and Jesus died on the cross to make that happen as we hear proclaimed in today’s second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, “...we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” He promised to give us eternal life which was accomplished through the Resurrection of Jesus. And, at our baptism, He promised to give us all the graces we would need to live as His sons and daughters.

How have God’s promises been fulfilled in our own lives? How have we experienced God’s comfort when we were grieving? How have we experienced His strength when we have been tempted? How have we experienced the joy of His presence? How has He answered our prayers? How have we been transformed through His word and through the sacraments?

Each of us should “make haste” every day to call to mind and be more aware of God’s presence and action in our lives. Every day He is fulfilling His promise to be by our side and to provide us with what we need to serve Him and to live an abundant life. Not only that, we should “make haste” to recognize God’s mighty work in our brothers and sisters and to celebrate with them God’s faithfulness to His promises.

The great preacher, Bishop Fulton Sheen once said that there are three answers God gives to our prayers - “yes”, “ no” and “wait”. No doubt there are those here today who have not received the answer to prayer that they expected. Perhaps we have prayed for a loved one to be healed and they continued to suffer. Perhaps we have prayed for our children to return to the faith and that has not happened. Perhaps we have asked God to give us or a loved one a child and we continue to be disappointed. In such situations, it is natural for us to ask why God seems to have forgotten or even abandoned us. Why hasn’t God listened to us or been quick to fulfill His promise to answer us when we call?

For those of us who seem to hear nothing from God except for “no” and “wait”, the need to trust is even greater. We can never know why God chooses to answer “yes” to some prayers and “no” to others. However, we must never lose hope that He has a plan and that His plan is better than ours. Nothing happens without God either doing it or allowing it to happen. Because God loves us so much, whatever he does or allows to happen is for our good. Unfortunately, we cannot always see what good will come from what we suffer but we have to trust that God knows. That trust will keep us from falling into despair or giving up altogether.

Mary can help us. Though she witnessed God’s promises being fulfilled in powerful ways, there must have also been times when she wondered what He was up to. One of those times would have been during Jesus’ crucifixion. Yet she remained faithful, continuing to trust in God’s promise. If we call upon her, we can believe that she will make haste to bring our petitions before the throne of God. If God’s answer is “no” she will make haste to comfort and encourage us. If God’s answer is “wait”, she will wait by our side. And if God’s answer is “yes” she will be there to celebrate with us the great wonders God has done for us.