Brief synopsis of the readings: From the Old Testament prophet Micah we learn that the one “who is to be ruler in Israel” will come from there. He shall “stand firm and shepherd his flock” and “he shall be peace.” In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel Mary traveled to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Both were pregnant. Mary greeted Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s baby (John the Baptist) leaped in the womb. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth proclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” Elizabeth then acknowledged that Mary is the “mother of my Lord.” Elizabeth ended this passage with these words: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to your by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Bethlehem? Seriously? That’s where the Messiah will come from? Apparently so, at least according to today’s readings. While we revere Bethlehem and keep a special place in our hearts, there’s not much there. It’s about 6 miles from Jerusalem and it’s really a suburb. But why there? The short answer is that Jesus was born there because it was promised in our first reading from Micah. Fair enough, but why did God (speaking through Micah) choose there?

Ultimately we don’t know and that’s what makes it interesting. I’ve spoken before about how Jesus virtually never chose the trappings of power and preferred to let his words and his works speak for themselves and that’s probably why he was not born in a palace in Jerusalem. It would be easy to think of Jerusalem as the holy land because it had been the focus of their life and worship since their escape from Egypt. As a matter of fact a great deal of the economy of the area depends on large swaths of believers who visit the “holy land.” We’ve just included Bethlehem as part of it.

But choosing a small town that few people knew about, in a sense, makes everywhere the “holy land.” I’ll obviously speak more about this in my Christmas homily but all we believe about Jesus is that he didn’t limit redemption to a small group or a small area. Redemption is expansive.

And let’s recognize the expansiveness of the meeting in today’s Gospel. Mary and Elizabeth were referred to as “kinswoman” and “cousins” but the exact relationship is unknown (we all have 1st cousins, 3rd cousins twice removed, etc.). But it’s enough to know that they were both family and this made Jesus and John the Baptist related. Now expectant mothers will eagerly tell you that they can often feel their baby’s movement but can’t predict when it will happen. It’s easy to explain away how John “leapt” in Elizabeth’s womb as a random event but it’s also easy to recognize that John really did respond to Jesus; maybe this was the first time John announced Jesus’ presence.

And Elizabeth picked it up from there. “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Elizabeth saw Mary not just as a family member but as the mother of her (and our) Lord. Well, everyone’s Lord. The Lord of the innkeeper who had no room for Mary and Joseph. The Lord of the Roman soldiers who oppressed the Jews. The Lord of those who inhabit the land we now call Europe. The Lord of the Native Americans in North America. The Lord of the Maori people of New Zealand.

Elizabeth’s declaration points to an important truth of the role of Mary. But where did her proclamation come from? Was it simply an insight that occurred to Elizabeth or a revelation from the Holy Spirit? Or both? And while it may be obvious to us all these years later and miles away it must have been puzzling at the time. We know that Mary had been given the choice of whether or not to bear Jesus, but how much did she really understand? And how much did she tell anyone? A single, pregnant woman in those times would certainly have stirred up some interest but she could hardly tell people that the father was the Holy Spirit.

And I like to think this revelation was an important step in Mary’s journey in understanding her role. Her pregnancy could hardly been seen as ordinary, but on the other hand, what’s more ordinary that two pregnant cousins sharing their experience? The dreams they have for their child, and for each other’s child. But none of this was ordinary and maybe it took Elizabeth’s words to really sink in. In much the same way I think many of us can look back on an important experience in our life that didn’t become clear until someone else pointed it out.

I’ve spoken about my father in law several times in the months since his death. Perhaps it’s part of the grieving process but it’s also an awareness of how he lived his life. He was ordained a deacon in his church in 1983 and in the 41 years since there have been several more ordained from the same church. Several of them have told me that the recognition of their vocation became much clearer when Al mentioned that he thought they’d be good at it. Their ordinary journey became a holy journey on the revelation of another.

As our journey of Advent continues toward Christmas let us take a page from Elizabeth’s words of encouragement. She recognized something in Mary that Mary may not have fully grasped, even to the point where Elizabeth’s unborn child reacted. This helps us recognize that the impending birth of Jesus isn’t just “that person” in “that place” but is expansive to all of us.

If this makes everywhere a holy land, when we plan our next vacation we should tell people we are going to the holy land.

Because we are all Bethlehem.