On the church calendar, May 31 is designated as the day to commemorate the Visitation of Mary. Methodists rarely celebrate this visit of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth on this date but rather incorporate it into our Advent schedules.
But, others do celebrate it, and this year, I think I will too.
Lessons (pointed out by Fred Craddock in Preaching through the Christian Year C) include:
Two examples of how God can accomplish something impossible--or at least unexpected. Who would have expected an elderly woman long considered barren or an unmarried woman to get pregnant (the second one may not seem so strange to us, but it was unlikely at the time). Elizabeth's story is much like Sarah's (see Geneses 18:14), but what God accomplishes through Mary's son is unprecedented.
The two women are named, unlike most women in the gospels.
Textweek.com offers Images of the Visitation ranging from a 14th century Giotto to contemporary ones.
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