Today we remember the visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pregnant with Jesus, to her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also pregnant, with John the Baptist.

Mary leaves her home in Nazareth immediately after the Angel Gabriel has appeared to her - to give her the astonishing news that she was in fact carrying the Son of the Lord Most High - and goes into the hill country of Judah, a journey of some 100km. And there she finds Elizabeth, by far her senior in years, now in her sixth month of pregnancy, And Mary stays some three months, so probably until the birth of John.

And doubtless with their both being pregnant, Mary wants to see how Elizabeth is faring, and indeed share some of her own experience. But it feels as if she was also just checking out, verifying even, what it was that the Angel had said to her…..just making sure that this was something real. God speaks clearly, very clearly, but we don’t always hear clearly, as our own hesitations and our anxieties can sometimes get in the way.

I never bought into the story that Mary was this meek and mild little servant of the Lord, all ‘doing thy will’ and a bit too pious for this world. No, this was a girl with some spirit, but a girl with doubts, anxieties, looking for reassurance - so a very ordinary teenager. In fact the most extraordinary thing about her was her very ordinariness – and yet, that she got up off the sofa, she steps up to what is required of her, and she does something amazing.

Ours is a God who chooses to work through the ordinary, who trusts every step of his plan, of his mission, of his Word, to people – actually people like us, with our hesitations, our concerns, our busy-ness, and our lack of confidence. That is why the young Mary is such a strong confidant and role model for so many people. And it is also our assurance that the God who comes into our world in the baby Jesus is a God for everyone - not just the posh, the wealthy or the righteous!

Click 'More Info' below to see a recitation of Rowan Williams 'Advent Calendar'