Blessed are you among women . . .

It seems like a long time since I wrote.  Last week were in silent retreat for three days, and the last day was very hard for me.  I was in a funk for several days after that.  Then I got busy - a women's gathering in New Jersey on Saturday, a wedding (New Jersey again) on Sunday.  But the real problem was the funk.  I just didn't have anything I wanted to share.  My mind and spirit were clogged with ancient pain I thought was gone.  But I'm back now.

Now I'm thinking about the Visitation, upcoming on May 31.  It comes every year, but this year it feels very special.  This year, the story of two women making a journey, greeting the divine spark in one another, celebrating what God can do, is very real to me.  Elizabeth - my companion in this adventure, not the mother of John the Baptist - is gifted and gifting.  My heart has been rising all day in anticipation of this great feast.

As we have been getting ready for a women's gathering that we will hold that day, we've been talking about the need for a matrilineal salvation story.  The Visitation is listed in the Book of Common Prayer as a moment in the life of Jesus.  It's that, but it's also a moment in the lives of Mary and Elizabeth.  As we've talked, we've realized that Elizabeth, the first to point to Jesus, doesn't have her own feast day in the calendar.  Men who never spoke a word in the Biblical record have their own days, but this prophetic voice is subsumed under the life of Jesus.  How would the church calendar be different if women counted?

The Visitation is the occasion for the Magnificat, the great hymn of overturning.  It's Mary's proclamation of God's continuing power.  So how would the church be different if we really heard it and participated in its vision?

This week, look for women who lead and women who celebrate other women's leadership.  Thank them, mentor them, stand with them.  Tell them they're a blessing, and remind them they are blessed.  Work to ensure that they are.

Remembering the Visitation means that no woman need to give birth alone, in shame, or in fear.  It means that we will surround her with love and peace.  It means that every woman's child will be welcomed as the face of God among us, and every mother as the Christ-bearer.  It means that men will care for women, even in the face of pressure to reject them.  Then we will have cause to celebrate!