Blessed Are You Among Women

Blessed Are You Among Women

The Feast of the Visitation – 7/2/2025

Luke 1:39-45

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer – St. John’s Lutheran Church of Oakes, ND

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this evening is our reading from the first chapter of the holy Gospel according to St. Luke with special emphasis on verses forty-one through forty-five which read as follows:

“And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Mary arose and went with haste. That is how our Gospel reading begins. She had just received the announcement from the angel Gabriel: that she, though a virgin, would conceive and bear the Son of the Most High. She asked, “How can this be?” and the angel pointed her to a sign: her elderly relative Elizabeth had conceived in her old age. “For nothing will be impossible with God.”

And so Mary goes. Not out of doubt, but in faith. In haste, with joy. Faith is never content to sit still. It moves; it acts. It runs to the Word of God, clings to His promises, and seeks out the fellowship of the faithful. And what a meeting this is! Mary, newly pregnant with the Son of God, and Elizabeth, six months along with John the Baptist.

The moment Mary enters the house and greets Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy. Already, John is doing what he was called to do: preparing the way of the Lord, pointing to Jesus even from the womb. The Holy Spirit fills Elizabeth, and she cries out with that beautiful confession we still confess today:  “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

This is a Spirit-filled confession of faith. Elizabeth calls Mary “blessed” not because of anything Mary had done, but because of what God had done for her and through her. Mary is blessed because she bears the promised Savior. And she is blessed even more because she believed in the Lord’s promise. That is what Elizabeth says: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

Faith is what makes Mary truly blessed. Not her virtue, not her humility, not her obedience, but her faith. She believed what the Lord had said to her, even when it seemed impossible. And that is what God always seeks: faith that clings to His Word. Yes, even though there are certainly great and admirable qualities for us to emulate in Mary, the mother of our God, Jesus Christ, the greatest thing we can do is to believe God with the sincerity and the steadfastness that Mary exhibits for us here.

This moment, the Visitation, is a meeting of faith. Mary believed, and so did Elizabeth. These women encourage each other. They rejoice together in the promises of God. They confess His mercy, His power, and His salvation. The unborn John the Baptist leaps with joy in the presence of the unborn Jesus. Even in the womb, Jesus is already Lord, already the Savior, already the cause of joy for the faithful.

And what joy this is! The world might not have noticed it. There was no fanfare and no crowds. There were only the two women in a house in the hill country of Judea. But the news that Mary comes to share is such that even heaven rejoices. The Messiah has come. The forerunner is leaping in joy and faith and salvation is beginning to unfold. Such is the mercy and work of God that even the very smallest, even those yet to be born can receive the gift of faith. This is, of course, the doing of the Holy Spirit. But we should not be surprised. Each of us is, at the core, an unbeliever and a doubter in God’s promises. But do not fret! For the Holy Spirit is far greater than the doubt and unbelief of your flesh and He creates faith in all of us: both intelligent and simple, old and young, male and female, members of all nations.

The Church remembers this moment because it shows us the shape of faith and the substance of our hope. We learn here that Jesus is true God and true man, even from the moment of His conception. He is no ordinary child. He is God in the flesh, our Lord and Savior even in the womb.

We learn also that God keeps His promises. What He spoke through the prophets, what He announced through the angel, He has done. He lifts up the humble. He fills the hungry with good things. He comes to save His people.

And finally, we learn that faith responds to the work of God with joy, humility, and confession. Mary receives the Word and believes. Elizabeth rejoices in the presence of her Lord. John leaps in the womb. This is the life of faith: recognizing Jesus, rejoicing in Him, and confessing His name.

So today, dear Christian, you are invited to join that same joy. You too are blessed, not because of what you have done, but because you have heard and believed the Word of the Lord. You are blessed because Christ has come to you through the Word, through the Sacraments, granting you the fruit of the promise of forgiveness and life.

Mary carried Jesus in her womb. You carry Him in your heart. She bore Him physically; you bear Him spiritually. And just as she went with haste to Elizabeth, so we are called to go with joy to one another to encourage, confess, and rejoice together in our Savior. Let the world call it small. Let them say it is nothing, just a few believers gathering in a little church on an unfortunately obscure summer feast day. But heaven knows better. The Holy Spirit is here. Jesus is here. And we rejoice with Mary and Elizabeth and John being recipients of the same gift that is the Lord Jesus as they were.

Blessed are you who believe that what the Lord has spoken to you will be fulfilled. And it will be. For Christ has come for you. He lives for you. He forgives you. He will raise you on the Last Day.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] Luke 1:41-45 English Standard Version. All subsequent citations from Holy Scripture are from the ESV.