Luke Chapter 1

vs 41

John was keen to prophesy even before he was out of the womb! And even Elizabeth was filled with the spirit - some woman!

vs 42

Why did he include "in a loud voice"? Anyway, a blessing is pronounced on both Mary and fetal Jesus, which is nice.

vs 43

Well, I guess God orchestrated it so that the mothers of the two Js could meet, but remember - Elizabeth actually probably has no idea what t he future of her baby is - Zechariah was told, but he's also struck dumb. So it is possible Elizabeth didn't even know. She does know about Jesus though - assuming the Holy Spirit let her do a bit of prophesying here.

vs 44

Yes, we read about that already.

vs 45

Did Mary tell her about that? Or did Elizabeth just prophesy some more? Doesn't really matter, I don't think.

vs 46

Then Mary burst into song. For a true historical record, do we really believe that Jesus' conception was a musical? Just a thought.

vs 47

So Mary is happy, glad about what's going on.

vs 48

She is glad because God has shown her special favour. It is true that no woman is as highly favoured I think - I mean, this is really a one off historical event that she gets to be a part of. She notes that she will be forever remembered (perhaps a little too well, but such is life).

I'm sure there's a lot we can learn from Mary, and not just all you chicks. But I don't think that means we should turn her into some especially venerated person.

vs 49

I think we often think of Mary as being just a conduit for a baby to come into the world. But Mary sees this as a great personal blessing from God. She sees this as God having done something wonderful for her. Good attitude.

vs 50

And now she begins to extol the virtues of God. One being his mercy. Kind of an important one, especially considering who's kicking around in her womb. She probably didn't realise it at the time, and just picked mercy because it rhymed or something, but it is obviously meaningful.