The idea hit as I sipped decaf coffee while listening to the speaker. It twirled in my mind long enough that by the time we stood to leave the Christmas banquet, I felt confident in my approach.
“I know the title for my speech next year,” I announced to everyone at my table, including my mom and sister, “It’s going to be, ‘Family Secrets’.”
Mom moaned. Laura let out a nervous giggle. And I stood triumphant, knowing I’d hit a nerve—a nerve I could hassle all year.
The event chair approved my title earlier this fall and I spent the next few months planning the talk in my head. In mid-November, I began my talk with a power point presentation that highlighted the oddities of our family.
Because we have them. You have them. And several of the characters in the Christmas story had them.
We've already talked about Zechariah. But if you missed the discussion, check out last week’s post, Awakening Wonder.
Basically, Zechariah visited with an angel in the temple and questioned the divine being’s claim that he would become a father in his old age. So, the angel made him mute and told him he wouldn’t be able to talk again until the promised child was born.
Which leads us back to Luke, “When his [Zechariah's]time of service was completed, he returned home. After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion. ‘The Lord has done this for me,’ she said. ‘In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people’” (Luke 1: 23 – 25 NIV).
Compared to what the world has known for centuries, Elizabeth’s five months of seclusion sounds insignificant. But if we put ourselves in her shoes, those five months had to have been monumental.
First, how did she even know she was pregnant? She was way past the normal season of menstruation. So, what was the sign? Morning sickness at 80 years of age? 60?
Who did she tell first? Her mute husband? Her best friend? Her women’s Bible study group?
Perhaps she soaked in quiet wonder. After a lifetime of shame, her wrinkled frame was with child. As her expanding body confirmed a baby grew inside, the change in status must have proved staggering.
Then, in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent an angel to tell her relative, Mary, that she would also bear a son. The unmarried teen asked only one question, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1: 24 NIV).
Unlike Zechariah who wanted proof, Mary simply sought understanding. So, the angel explained, “'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Holy Spirit will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.'
‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said’” (Luke 1: 35 – 38 NIV).
What did Mary do next? “She got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth” (Luke 1: 39 – 40 NIV).
Elizabeth’s baby leaped in her womb and the grey-haired mom yelled out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear… Blessed is she who has believed what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” (Luke 1: 42 & 45 NIV).
Luke later records that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months. And I want to pause there and imagine... imagine two women, surprised by God, huddled together in a kitchen, trying to grasp the miracles.
Two unsuspecting mothers. Two divine babies destined to change the world. And three months of sweet fellowship unencumbered by outside voices.
Elizabeth and Mary shared a sweet family secret. Scripture confirms that many knew Elizabeth's good news and believed. But after living in my skin for 48 years, it also seems quite plausible that in time, others spewed scorn and ridicule, especially toward Mary.
The unwed mother faced a different level of scrutiny than Elizabeth. But safe in Elizabeth's home, she relished the connection and daily sense of wonder.
And this is where I'll end Part 1. In a kitchen, with pregnant, hormonal, chatty women, who shared an uncommon connection to the divine. The joy they felt would one day be eclipsed by the death of their sons. But for three months, they huddled together, an unlikely pair, carrying the promises of God.
Some family secrets are just pretty cool.
(PS. Today's post is finished in honor of Laura, a cashier from a Kroger near me, whose words kept me going tonight.)
All photos courtesy of pixabay.com
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