I'm glad to be making these paintings and sketches and to unveil some aspects of the Christmas story I haven't noticed before.  In an attempt to pace ourselves and somehow forestall Christmas until Christmas day, and even delay the pictures and images surrounding that event --like the manger scene, the shepherds, and later, the Magi, I'm attending this Sunday to the visitation of Mary to Elizabeth.

As the scripture declares, the baby John leapt in Elizabeth's womb when he heard the voice of Mary. This is an interesting thing to imagine and visually to try to image. I can imagine it and hope to assist you to imagine/image Mary showing a little bit at this time and hopefully easily imagine the very pregnant Elizabeth ready to deliver any day since she is at the stage when the baby can leap within. For pregnant Elizabeth, an older woman (what we would now label as a high-risk pregnancy), we can imagine she is a woman very ready to get past the discomfort of late term pregnancy and an active child within.  Some reading this will understand her more than others.

There are a few surprises noted in this picture --it must have been a big surprise for both women to actually be pregnant, and then to have a surprise visit from a kinswoman! After the surprise annunciation Mary had and also what Elizabeth heard about her own pregnancy through Zachariah's hand signals and then the changes in her body --now both women were face to face --surprise! Mary surprised Elizabeth with a visit and her stance here in my pastel is almost like that of the angel in the annunciation as she is now back-lighted in the doorway. Frankly, that's what she's doing through her visit and then via her Magnificat --she's making an angelic annunciation. Her presence and declaration is a repetition of the very amazing angelic announcement and her own human role in this great divine offering. For Mary to verbalize it is a part of the incarnation! It is part of the incarnation necessary for us as well. Acquiring the great good news is one thing, but assimilating it in such a way as to convey it and the personal effect Christ has on you, and then going out to share it --that's part of the Christmas narrative we find in this gospel story.