Waiting at the door with Elizabeth and Mary

Summary

All of this happens in the doorway. Mary arrives at Elizabeth’s house ‐ the cousins exchange greetings. We could ask the same question of Mary that Mary asked of the angel some months ago. When the angel came to Mary she wondered what kind of greeting this might be. Now we get a strange greeting exchange between Elizabeth and Mary. It all happens in the doorway – between outside and inside, journey and home, between this world and the next, between what has been and what is yet to be. What kind of greeting is this? A long greeting indeed, much to digest. Mary greets with poem of the heart and gut that sings of God’s mighty deeds ‐ what God has done and will do in this eon and the next. Rulers come down from thrones, the humble are lifted up, the hungry are filled, and the rich sent away with hunger pangs. God makes promises and keeps them – all of this before Elizabeth bids her “come on in.”