“Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.”
Why? Why did Mary go to Elizabeth? Elizabeth lived with her husband, the priest Zechariah in Ein Karem, about 5 miles from Jerusalem. That was close enough for the priest, Zechariah, to work in the Temple in Jerusalem when it was his turn for duty. Ein Karem was about 90 miles from Nazareth. That was perhaps a four-day trip for Mary.
To whom could Mary speak about her pregnancy? If she let it be known in Nazareth, it would have been difficult to keep her from being stoned. Besides that, she had such a tale than no one would believe or accept, probably not even her own parents. But, there was one person with whom she could speak openly, as she learned from the Archangel Gabriel.
Only Elizabeth could possibly comfort and guide Mary at this point in her life. A young pregnant woman, with a miraculous secret and an old pregnant woman, who also had a miraculous secret. Both were pregnant in miraculous ways through Divine intervention. One of them carried the Son of God in her womb. The young woman would care for the older woman. Elizabeth’s husband could not speak at this point. The older woman would provide comfort and assurance to the younger woman. Together they could explore the mystery of their respective miracles. They could not do this with anyone else at that point.
Why did Mary rush to go to Elizabeth? What drove Mary to go in haste, on a four-day, ninety mile trip to Ein Karem?
Many people today have their own ego-drama. The ego-drama is my private drama, my project, my problems, my job, my company, my issues. We see this absolutely everywhere in our culture. “I” am the star of my life. People look for their purpose in life in their own selfish ways. The “ego-drama”.
But there is a “theo-drama” being told by God, the great work being directed by God from the beginning of time. Countless prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah. Mary and Elizabeth were both aware and educated in these prophecies, now confirmed by the Archangel Gabriel. Mary and Elizabeth now knew their purpose in life, and it was not their private ego-drama. Their purpose in life was now to fully cooperate with God in his “Grand Plan” for mankind. And they knew it. They discovered their purpose in life, and it was to cooperate in God’s plan. Through them would come the salvation of all mankind. Whatever other plans they may have had for their lives were now insignificant. Together they committed themselves to God’s plan. We would all do well to follow their example.