Fourth Sunday of Advent 2024

This is the fourth and final reflection in NETWORK’s 2024 Advent Series.

The Fourth Sunday of Advent offers us a beautiful story of an encounter: Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth, where Elizabeth proclaims that the infant in her womb leaped for joy when Mary’s greeting reached her ears.

The Visitation is a beautiful story, and while it is a very familiar one, let us take the time to lean in and allow it to help us complete our journey through Advent. Over these past weeks, we’ve received reminders of God’s promise amidst the world’s turmoil. We have given thanks for God’s goodness at work in our lives, and we have rejoiced in what it means to have “God with us” in the work of transforming our world.

But Elizabeth brings something new to the table: pausing and recognizing God in one another.

In Mary’s case, this was literal as she prepared to bring Jesus into the world. But it also applies to the rest of us. Recognizing God in each person is intrinsic to our belief in human dignity. It propels us to work for justice, but it offers more than that, too.

The Visitation is an encounter between Mary and Elizabeth. It is an act of community, and in challenging times it is crucial that we live more fully into these moments of encounter that deepen community. There, we find accompaniment, support, and grace that call us to offer our best selves to each other and the world.