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Friday of the Third Week of Advent
Judges 13:2-7, 24-25A
Psalm 71:3-4A, 5-6AB, 16-17
Luke 1:5-25
Summary
All today's readings reflect on the intimacy and the power of the womb as the holy nurturing place
for the rootstock of the world's salvation. The greatest heroes of Israel began in a special place
thought to have been abandoned of even the possibility of new life until touched in a wondrous way
by the love of God.
Reflection
Elizabeth and Menoah's wife were both burdened with the stigma of "barrenness." What little procre-
ation science was known in the day was often perilously interwoven with folk wisdom and produced
a distorted explanation of things like conception--powerful realities which originated hidden from
view. The prevailing wisdom of biblical times was that a woman's womb was akin to the fertile soil of
the planting fields, which stood ready for bloom when planted with the male's "seed." Late in life, a
married woman without children was viewed as a "barren" wasteland without God's blessing of fertili-
ty. This must have caused anguish and shame for those women, who would have been seen as passed
over by God's favor by many of their family and neighbors. The "science" was effectively silent on
the man's contribution to this curse, but all knew that that couple's share in the future of the tribe
would be truncated and that their old age would be impoverished without the social security of chil-
dren. Their future and the future of the community could only be assured by a steady and increas-
ing birthrate to which that couple seemed destined not to contribute.
It's all the more remarkable that so many of the great redeemers of Israel's recurring enslavement's
came from wombs or households that had hitherto been seen as abandoned of new life. Starting with
Sarah and Abraham at the very advent of Hebrew history, continuing with Moses being rescued and
raised by Bithiah, the then childless sister of Pharaoh, moving on in today's story of Samson's blessed
gestation, and ending with the beginning of the next era in the miraculous birth of John the Baptist
to Elizabeth and Zachariah. Jewish and Christian history is literally borne on the backs and at the
breasts of "childless" women. Since Abraham is the father of Islam as well, we might do well to add
those folks into the gathering with the rest of us.
Although scripture is no modern science textbook, it's amazing how prescient the authors were by
restricting the consumption of alcohol and encouraging stricter nutritional health during pregnancy-
-especially if that child, as every child should be regarded, is going to be responsible for bringing
about the rescue of the broader community later in life!
The sense of barrenness, whether in childbirth or in life's journey, is a dreadful feeling that can sap
us of enthusiasm. These readings point out how often those
are the times when Divine presence can be most magnified.
There, the Spirit has its fertile ground, free of distractions.
An abundance of grace explodes from seemingly nowhere
and we can be recharged with a sense of blessing that over-
whelms the negative darkness within. That's a miracle!
We don't have to wait for stones to turn into loaves of
bread; we merely take the next step forward. Life is reborn,
the world is ready for change. With God, all things, even