I love this painting!!
Just look at them. They are so joyful! They are so happy!
When I got home and was looking at my pictures, this one was between two different places I visited and I couldn't remember where it was taken! Egads!!!! Was it the last picture I took here, or the first picture I took there...???
So I began to search. And I guess no one else was as enchanted with it as I was, because several days on Google (and I'm a pretty good searcher!) only turned up one single photo of it. The photo was labeled "Lower Chapel in the the Basilica of Dormition".
So at least I wasn't nuts! And I was able to concentrate my search. But I am still baffled! I cannot find out anything about it. I was most surprised that the brochure I got at the Basilica did not mention it. Although it did mention every single other side altar in the Chapel and the Crypt, the only thing I can find that even begins to match my memory is the statement "The first two altars on the northern wall have no particular design so far..." I can only guess that the brochure is from before this painting was done, and it's just temporary until another altar mosaic is installed! Heaven forbid!! !!!
The Dormition Abbey has been renamed the Hagia Maria Sion Abbey. I've also seen it called the Basilica of Dormition and Church of the Dormition. So good luck if you are trying to find it on Google! LOL!
But just look at Mary and Elizabeth in this painting.
They were kin. Some references say kinswoman. So they knew each other, were related. Maybe they didn't see each other often since they lived in different towns. My goodness, it was approximately 100 miles from Nazareth to Ein Kerem! Maybe that made any time the were together that much sweeter. They loved each other and enjoyed being together. Even though Elizabeth was much older than Mary, they were friends.
Now Mary finds out from the Angel Gabriel that she is to bare the Savior, the Messiah! Wow! She must have been elated!!
Mary also knows that her beloved relative Elizabeth is also pregnant, has been blessed with a miracle!
"She sent with haste to a Judian town in the hill country". Lk. 1:39. With haste. She is going quickly to Elizabeth. She is overjoyed at her news and wants to share it with her friend, her kinswoman. Plus, she is so happy for Elizabeth to have conceived in her old age! Maybe she is just twitching with excitement! Oh the miles must have seemed endless as Mary made her way to Ein Kerem to see her!
There, in the distance! She sees Zacharia's house! Does her step quicken? Does her heart? Is she becoming breathless with her excitement?
And then there is Elizabeth, calmly going about her daily routine. She has no idea Mary is on her way. No email, no phone, no letter. She doesn't know her young family member is so close!
The news of her pregnancy is no longer a shock to her or Zacharia, but at 6 months pregnant she is never without a constant reminder of the miracle! Other mothers know, the width of your stomach out in front, bumping into things, making your clothes tight, catching every spill! The pressure on your back at night, on your bladder all the time, the new always-tired feeling. At 6 months, she can already feel his movement.
And she knows her baby is a boy! Stop and think how astounding that was 2000 years ago!!! It's a boy, and his name is John. She is secure in that knowledge because her faith is great.
And like any woman who carries a baby, especially a first-time mother of her extraordinary circumstances, she must bask in her pregnancy. Just revel in every little change to her body. She basks in it; wears the knowing smile of having a delightful secret. Being in constant touch with an invisible visitor that only she can hear and feel, only she is aware of.
Maybe she is sweeping or grinding something or sewing...maybe doing her daily work a bit mindlessly, daydreaming about her baby, maybe humming to herself and to John. Does she stop now and then to rub her belly? Even in her old age, I'll bet she has no complaints for any backaches or fatigue. She doesn't care because her dream of having a baby is coming true! Her prayers have been answered! Any discomfort will be brushed aside as nothing compared to the ache of an empty womb. She is the miracle of motherhood.
Then, Elizabeth hears something, a visitor! And she recognizes Mary's voice immediately and her heart leaps with joy -no wait -it's the baby!! And Elizabeth has full immediate knowledge! Mary will bare the Messiah! Little Mary is to be the mother of the Savior of Israel! The answer to thousands of years of prayers of her people! The time has come and a Deliverer is on the way! Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and with happiness and joy!
She grabs Mary in a loving embrace and blesses Mary! With just a few words from Elizabeth, Mary knows that she understands and believes. The two of them - how blessed they are, and they both know and acknowledge it! They both realize that they are part of God's salvation of their people - their embrace, their hug, their touch conveys so much! The love in their eyes for each other! Is that a tear?
I sat under this painting and I felt such joy! I could not stop smiling!! On my trip we rarely had time to stop to enjoy the site we were visiting. But this time, in this place, we did get a few minutes. The colors, the expressions on their faces...it was just awesome - and I knew it! I knew I was feeling something special and wonderful!
I wanted to stay, to sit, to meditate. I wanted to just look at the beautiful mosaic which was effecting me and just smile.
All the times I had hungered for a spiritual experience! And I knew I was having one, I knew I was touching something special!! I was aware of the wonderfulness of it while it was happening.
I smile now just remembering, just looking at the photo. And see that girl in the corner peeking through the door? I'm going to claim that is me. Watching. Smiling.
I will forever love this image of Mary & Elizabeth, I will never forget.
Thank you God for allowing me to feel your presence in my mind this day. Thank you Jesus for allowing your Mother to smile down on my heart this day. Thank you Holy Spirit for allowing me to feel your essence in the lasting effects in my soul, still today. Amen.
**Update: Mom thinks this lovely painting is the layout for a future mosaic. I hope she is right!!!! The this beautiful image will be here forever for everyone to fall in love with as I did!
2012 Pilgrimage to Israel - Day 9
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