Mothers of the Movement

Mary’s consent to the assignment of heaven bore potential real-world ramifications of harm. First century law stated that whether betrothed or married, those found guilty of adultery were subject to capital punishment. Stoning. Never mind that sexual assault was commonplace in the ancient world, where women possessed minimal rights. Women held little bodily autonomy and were betrothed as young as twelve years old. Stories of the sexual subjugation of women are threaded throughout the Old Testament, from Hagar to Bathsheba to Tamar. Mary’s first act in defiance of this pattern was to carry a baby, and no man took advantage of her body to do so. She willingly challenged the law to mother a movement before Joseph chose to continue with their wedding plans.

Hurriedly, the Scriptures indicate, freshly pregnant Mary fled Galilee and traveled roughly a hundred miles to Judah to lodge with her elder cousin, Elizabeth, who, despite her advanced age, was six months into her own surprise pregnancy. Two first-time mamas, a poor teenage girl and her geriatric cousin, were about to birth the leaders of the liberation. But before they did, we witness solidarity. One woman showed up for another.

Filled with the Spirit, Elizabeth doesn’t give Mary side-eye or show even a tinge of jealousy toward her younger kin, but without hesitation she exclaims, “God has blessed you above all women.”

For the mothers of this kingdom movement, their willingness to participate in God’s grand plan was their act of resistance, and they were in it together. They had each other, their voices, and a commitment to protect the vulnerable people in their midst. Even more striking is the confidence Elizabeth’s encouragement generates within Mary. After a show of solidarity, where Elizabeth honors the life and role of her young cousin, Mary responds with a song—the Magnificat. Lyrics of defiance and ancient proclamations of triumph were unheard of from poor girls who held no power, yet that’s what Luke records.

Mary and Elizabeth chose to mother in a destabilized region under the weight of oppressive rule, which was no small task. They melded their political, social, and familial responsibilities with their faith. May we do the same. Like them, may we carry on with radical tenderness and tenacity in our own unpredictable time and place, where there is no short supply of heaviness and heartache.

Tiffany Bluhm, The Women We’ve Been Waiting For, Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group, September 24, 2024. Used by permission.