Request 216 Luke 3 Visit with Elizabeth

Luke 1:39-80

Luke (door knock): Are you home today Mary?

Mary: Is that you again Dr Luke? Come on in, and make yourself comfortable.

Luke: Thanks. I hope you’re up for sharing more of your memories.

Mary: I’m always ready for that. Now where did we leave off last time?

Luke: You were telling me what happened once you travelled to visit your relative, Elizabeth.

Mary: Oh yes. Well, I wasn’t able to stay with her for more than the next 3 months, but we had a time of praise, and celebration between us through the rest of the time she was with child…
(fade out)

(fade in, and Luke in voiceover while writing his letter).

Luke: Dear Theophilus, I had another amazing visit with Mary today. Her account of her meeting with Elizabeth, wife of the priest, Zechariah went like this…
(fades out, and into the narrative).

Luke: In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry,

Elizabeth: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke: And Mary said,

Mary: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Luke: And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.
(fade out)

(fade in)
Luke: That sounds like such a joyful time. Elizabeth must have been overjoyed at your coming all that way to join her.

Mary: and don’t forget the baby. He leapt for joy in her womb.

Luke: Right, and Elizabeth must have had some forethought of what your appearance to her meant as well when she said: “why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
…blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Luke continues: She called you the mother of her lord. And that she thought you were blessed for believing in the fulfilment of the promised messiah.

Mary: I don’t know how she knew about that, I barely had time to get there and greet her properly.

Luke: But she said it.

Mary: I know, and something seemed to come over me. I began to sing praise. I was humbled, overwhelmed, and wanted to give the glory to God for choosing to work through me. It suddenly struck me that from now on all generations will call me blessed;

he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.

Luke: You’re doing it again Mary. Re an amazing lady, Mary.

Mary: Well I wouldn’t say that.

Luke: I know you wouldn’t, but I would. And just did.

Mary: Well, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that.

Luke: You don’t have to. I just did. You ladies were quite the prophets.

Mary: When the spirit of the lord washes over you, it can’t be helped. But the prophecies weren’t limited to only us.
(fade out).

Mary continues (fade in).

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered,

Elizabeth: “No; he shall be called John.”

Mary: And they said to her,

Voice: “None of your relatives is called by this name.”

Mary: And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote,

Zechariah: “His name is John.”

Mary: And they all wondered.

(Option. Background voices ad lib Hmm… I wonder. (

Mary: And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

(Option. Zechariah in background, ad lib: Blessing to God.)

Mary: And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,

Voice 1: “What then will this child be?”
Voice 2: For the hand of the Lord was with him.

Mary: And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying,

Zechariah: “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Mary: And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Luke: So, that’s how John came to be born. I think I had better let you rest, Mary. I can tell that sharing your memories is wearing you out.

Mary. That’s a good idea, but come back. There’s still more to tell about the arrival of my own child.

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