The Man came unexpectedly. The Three Wise Ones, in their hut by the sea, welcomed him and set food before him. The oldest of the Three, looking deeply into his eyes, recognised his desolation and the burden he carried, but also the glorious possibility that lay behind that burden. The Old Wise One embraced him in joy.

The others gathered round, and, as he poured out his story, the Three wise Ones recognised that this was their story too; that the Great One had led them to the edge of the sea to be as midwives in the birth of the Great Fulfillment; that, in the burden they endured, they were but poised, like three great eagles, to take off in a new and glorious way; and, that, in his own  take off, the Man would be as a greater eagle and as a bright light, bringing many out of the shadows, toward the Great One.

Such was his burden. And, if the Great One seemed to have abandoned him to this desolation, it was but the prelude to the appearance of the Great Fulfillment.

As the Man visited the Wise Ones in their hut by the sea, so Mary visited Elizabeth in the hill country. And when, in our area, we hear the voices of the dispossessed, the sick, the vulnerable and the young, we too can set food before them, embrace them and call them blessed when, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we recognise in their burden and the possibilities beyond it, the bright face of Jesus inviting them to new life.

Mary had to make a journey to the hill country. The Man had to journey to the hut beside the sea. We have much work to do…

Let us pray:
Lord, we thank you for the faith of Mary and Elizabeth as they discerned and accomplished your will in their lives. May we, as your disciples follow their example and put all our trust in you.
Forgive us, Lord, for grumbling at the burdens you ask us to bear, and for the lack of faith to recognise what love lies behind them.
We ask you, Lord, to raise up men and women who will care for the vulnerable in our society and in our Church. Give them the insight of Mary and Elizabeth to recognise your presence in others and the joy to celebrate it. Send us the light of your Spirit.

Gospel Meditations for December are by Bro Paschal Jordan of the Benedictine Monastery, Mora Camp, Lower Mazaruni, Guyana