A reflection on Luke 1:39-45

Today’s gospel text is likely familiar. It is a story of two pregnant cousins, Mary and Elizabeth. After travelling Mary meets Elizabeth at the door. Upon hearing Mary’s greeting the child leaps in Elizabeth’s womb.

Elizabeth, overcome with excitement, exclaims loudly:

Blessed are you among women!
Blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Blessed is she who believes,
what was spoken by the Lord!

It is a Hallmark moment,
Where all is right.

It is going to Disneyworld,
Preparing for the best of days.

It is the perfect gift,
Under the tree,
All wrapped up,
Tied with a bow.

As well-timed baby kicks often do, this one connects two worlds where Elizabeth resides. The first is the world as it is. The second is world within her, and Mary, that is soon to be.

Elizabeth excitedly shares this joy with her cousin, and all of us, today.

Pondering the energy that bursts from this text, I asked friends on social media to share their baby kick memories and what the moments meant to them. Surprisingly, only women shared, even tho we men experience kicks, tho perhaps in a different way. Here are a few stories shared by friends.

Amanda Kress had first flutters at an I-Cubs game. Actually it was after the game, during fireworks. The kicks reassured her, and let Amanda know the child was already connecting with the world around them with a bang.

Jealaine Marple remembers not kicks but dancing. During chapel at seminary, the organ would start playing and her child would get down, breakdancing to the beat. How cool is that.

Karen Andeweg remembers not kicks, but something more akin to rolls. And hiccups late at nite when she was trying to sleep. It was a reminder for her that good news was brewing within.

Second Look
While today’s gospel text is familiar there is more to this tale.

Consider Mary. At around 13 years old Mary was pregnant, and unwed. Her fiancée Joseph was not the father. Initially he considered calling the nuptials off. Had this happened Mary would have been an unwed teenage mother. Society would have judged her harshly, unfairly. Perhaps in our day not much has changed.

Consider Elizabeth. Nearing 90 years old at the time of her pregnancy it too was a surprise. She and her husband had tried for years to have a child. Until then it wasn’t to be. Would this time be different? What if the problems her and Zachariah experienced with having a child were about to happen again?

The two women couldn’t help but be anxious, fearful, afraid. In their own way they each had a high-risk pregnancy. They had much to gain. They had much to lose.

It is with this backdrop that Mary went to visit Elizabeth. It was no short trip; Mary trekked more than sixty miles for the visit, either by mule or by foot. The trip for her likely would have been hard.

As the two embraced there was excitement in the air.

As well-timed baby kicks often do, the kick brought with it joy to the cousins, yes. But it did more. It helped the pair overcome the fears they faced. They were not alone, they had each other, they had a sign that all was well. The women, who were 75 years apart in age celebrated, together.

It is a reminder that God is faithful to us across the generations.
It is a reminder too that God meets us where we’re at.
And meets us no matter where that may be.

This includes meeting the sadness of couples who want to have a child but are unable to.

Here are a few other baby kick stories friends shared that delve into how God meets us amid the messiness of life.

Kira Ward, during her last pregnancy, at age 40, faced a challenge. The umbilical cord that connected mother and child had a condition, that if the vessel burst, could limit oxygen to the baby. This naturally worried her and husband Brian a good bit. The kicks, when they happened, were a real-time reassurance that the baby boy was doing just fine, that all was well.

Sara remembers that every kick scared her. And for good reason: she had lost six babies before her son was born. Kicking would startle her, she’d then sigh in relief. And what was better than the ‘was that a kick phase’ for Sara? The new game her baby made up she playfully calls the ‘can I reach your bladder with my foot.’ Often the baby won. And off to the bathroom she went 😊.

Dawn Trautman decided to be a single mother by choice, and has loved nearly every bit of it. She has a strong community and people fiercely kind about showing up for every big moment for her daughter. But her baby kicks during pregnancy couldn’t be scheduled. She was alone or among strangers every time they happened. She laments never getting to share that with anyone in a tactile “feel my belly” kind of way.

Veronica Smith had an anterior placenta, and because of that never expected to feel a kick. On Christmas Eve she remembers feeling sad about all this talk of babies and Mary during the service. Telling her husband about how sad she was feeling about it, the unexpected happened. She felt a kick. Then another. And another. Veronica sobbed tears of joy, tears of relief. In the midst of a difficult pregnancy the reminder all was well was beautifully timed.

As we look toward the manger let each of us open our hearts to experience the kicks of new life that surround us. Kicks of new life on the way come in many forms.

It is the call from a friend you haven’t heard from in forever.
It is the relationship evolving in new, healthy ways.
It is the feeling of peace amid tension all around.
It is the sense of hope where before there was none.

For the Holy Spirit is the author of each gentle kick, each nudge we feel.

She reminds us, in the words of the 14th century mystic Julian of Norwich, that

All shall be well,
And all shall be well,
And all manner of things shall be well.

For the savior of the world will be born among us, quite soon. Amen.