Written By: Kaleigh Hamilton<\/p>\n
One of my favorite Biblical examples of intergenerational ministry comes from what we typically think of as, \u201cThe Christmas Story.\u201d If we take the time to study this passage, we will see a powerful example of what can happen when generations work together in advancing the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n
Luke chapter 1 begins with the story of a prophecy set in motion by Elizabeth, Zechariah, and their baby, John the Baptist.<\/p>\n
Despite painful years of infertility and the sorrow of growing past the age to continue hoping for a miracle, a miracle does indeed come and Elizabeth becomes pregnant. (Luke 1:13) Around this same time, seventy miles and a three day walk down the road, yet another prophetic miracle was taking place. Mary, Elizabeth\u2019s cousin, also becomes a powerful example of a life that seeks God above all else as she steps into her place in God\u2019s redemptive story for His creation.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/sup><\/strong>The angel answered, \u201cThe Holy Spirit will come on you,\u00a0and the power of the Most High\u00a0will overshadow you. So the holy one\u00a0to be born will be called\u00a0the Son of God.\u00a036\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child\u00a0in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.\u00a037\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For no word from God will ever fail. Luke 1:35-37<\/p>\n Looking at this story from the bird\u2019s eye view of two-thousand years and with the entire Bible at our fingertips, the angel\u2019s passing comment about Elizabeth may not hold as much weight as it did back then to Mary. We may even pass over the fact that it was the very same angel that foretold John\u2019s birth who visits Mary.<\/p>\n But the angel\u2019s words were a lifeline to the shell-shocked mother-to-be. Mary doesn\u2019t hesitate; she immediately rushes to the one person who would understand what if felt like to be pregnant, against all odds, and every physical limitation with a prophetic miracle.<\/p>\n 39 <\/sup><\/strong>At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,40\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>where she entered Zechariah\u2019s home and greeted Elizabeth.\u00a041\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>When Elizabeth heard Mary\u2019s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.\u00a042\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>In a loud voice she exclaimed: \u201cBlessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!\u00a043\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord\u00a0should come to me?\u00a044\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.\u00a045\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! Luke 1:39<\/p>\n What an amazing moment in God\u2019s story! We see two women, powerful in their faith, bearing the weight of the one that was foretold and the one who would foretell. These amazing women experienced the very first mention of \u201cbeing filled with the Holy Spirit.\u201d Not only did God promise that Elizabeth\u2019s baby would experience the Holy Spirit before he was even born, but Elizabeth herself was an active participant in this historical moment. Elizabeth, with no hesitation and no timidity, begins to bless Mary and her baby, speaking words of encouragement and confirming the angel\u2019s words over Mary; words that Mary had not even shared.<\/p>\n Matthew Henry says that, \u201cIt does not appear that Elizabeth had been told anything of her cousin Mary\u2019s being designed for the mother of the Messiah; and therefore what knowledge she appears to have had of it must have come by revelation, which would be a great encouragement to Mary\u201d (commentary, Luke 1:39-56). I can only imagine how sacred that moment felt to those women, as they saw the long-awaited promise of God to his people unfold in front of their very eyes, through their very bodies.<\/p>\n Up to this cataclysmic moment in their lives, Mary and Elizabeth could not have been more different. Mary was young, engaged, at the precipice of what must have seemed like her \u201chappily ever after.\u201d Elizabeth was fifty years older than Mary, barren, cast aside and forgotten by society. Yet God didn\u2019t see their age, their inexperience, or their so-called shortcomings. He saw two hearts who were willing and obedient to his Spirit and he used their vastly different stories to kickstart his miraculous redemptive plan for all of humanity.<\/p>\n Mary could have disregarded the angel\u2019s comment, believing that Elizabeth was too old and too set in her ways to understand Mary. Elizabeth could have pushed Mary away, annoyed by a little, ignorant girl and refused the Holy Spirit\u2019s promptings. Instead, these two powerhouses stepped out in extreme faith, responded in culture-shattering obedience, and advanced the Kingdom of God together<\/em>. They supported each other, encouraged each other, and believed in each other when society wanted to mock them and crush them.<\/p>\n Can you imagine what the women of the IPHC could accomplish today if we responded to the world like Mary and Elizabeth?<\/p>\n The Holy Spirit has given you eyes to see and words to speak. Younger or older, I encourage you to boldly follow where the Lord leads you, and to lean on each other as we advance the Kingdom of Heaven!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3932,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[757,1,37],"tags":[749,704,16,1252],"class_list":{"0":"post-3931","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allgenerations","8":"category-general","9":"category-womens-ministries","10":"tag-749","11":"tag-all-generations","12":"tag-discipleship","13":"tag-kaleigh-hamilton","14":"entry"},"title_es":"El ministerio intergeneracional de Mar\u00eda y Elizabeth","content_es":"Escrito por: Kaleigh Bishop Uno de mis ejemplos b\u00edblicos favoritos del ministerio intergeneracional proviene de lo que t\u00edpicamente consideramos como \"La historia de Navidad\". Si nos tomamos el tiempo para estudiar este pasaje, veremos un poderoso ejemplo de lo que puede suceder cuando las generaciones trabajan juntas en el avance del Reino de Dios. El cap\u00edtulo 1 de Lucas comienza con la historia de una profec\u00eda puesta en marcha por Isabel, Zacar\u00edas y su beb\u00e9, Juan el Bautista. A pesar de los a\u00f1os dolorosos de infertilidad y el dolor de haber pasado la edad para continuar esperando un milagro, un milagro realmente llega y Elizabeth queda embarazada. (Lucas 1:13) Alrededor de este mismo tiempo, setenta millas y una caminata de tres d\u00edas por el camino, otro milagro prof\u00e9tico estaba teniendo lugar. Mar\u00eda, prima de Elizabeth, tambi\u00e9n se convierte en un poderoso ejemplo de una vida que busca a Dios por encima de todo a medida que entra en su lugar en la historia redentora de Dios para su creaci\u00f3n. \"<\/sup><\/strong> El \u00e1ngel respondi\u00f3:\" El Esp\u00edritu Santo vendr\u00e1 sobre ti, y el poder del Alt\u00edsimo te cubrir\u00e1 con su sombra. Entonces el santo que nacer\u00e1 ser\u00e1 llamado el Hijo de Dios. 36<\/sup><\/strong> Incluso Elizabeth, su pariente va a tener un hijo en su vejez, y la que se dice que no puede concebir est\u00e1 en su sexto mes. 37<\/sup><\/strong> Porque ninguna palabra de Dios fallar\u00e1 alguna vez. Lucas 1: 35-37 Al observar esta historia desde la perspectiva de dos mil a\u00f1os y con toda la Biblia al alcance de la mano, el comentario fugaz del \u00e1ngel sobre Elizabeth puede no tener tanto peso como lo hizo en aquel entonces con Mar\u00eda. Incluso podemos pasar por alto el hecho de que fue el mism\u00edsimo \u00e1ngel que predijo el nacimiento de Juan que visita a Mar\u00eda. Pero las palabras del \u00e1ngel fueron una salvavidas para la madre conmocionada. Mary no vacila; de inmediato se apresura a la \u00fanica persona que entender\u00eda qu\u00e9 pasar\u00eda si estuviera embarazada, contra viento y marea, y todas las limitaciones f\u00edsicas con un milagro prof\u00e9tico. 39<\/sup><\/strong> En ese momento Mar\u00eda se prepar\u00f3 y se apresur\u00f3 a llegar a una ciudad en la regi\u00f3n monta\u00f1osa de Judea, 40<\/sup><\/strong> donde ella entr\u00f3 en la casa de Zacar\u00edas y salud\u00f3 a Isabel. 41<\/sup><\/strong> Cuando Isabel oy\u00f3 el saludo de Mar\u00eda, la criatura salt\u00f3 en su vientre, y Elisabet se llen\u00f3 del Esp\u00edritu Santo. 42<\/sup><\/strong> En voz alta exclam\u00f3: \"\u00a1Bendita t\u00fa entre las mujeres, y bendito es el ni\u00f1o que llevar\u00e1s! 43<\/sup><\/strong> Pero, \u00bfpor qu\u00e9 soy tan favorecido, que la madre de mi Se\u00f1or venga a m\u00ed? 44<\/sup><\/strong> Tan pronto como el sonido de tu saludo lleg\u00f3 a mis o\u00eddos, el beb\u00e9 en mi vientre salt\u00f3 de alegr\u00eda. 45 \u00a1<\/sup><\/strong> Bendita es la que ha cre\u00eddo que el Se\u00f1or cumplir\u00eda sus promesas para ella! Lucas 1:39 \u00a1Qu\u00e9 momento tan asombroso en la historia de Dios! Vemos a dos mujeres, poderosas en su fe, que soportan el peso del que se predijo y el que predec\u00eda. Estas asombrosas mujeres experimentaron la primera menci\u00f3n de \"ser llenas del Esp\u00edritu Santo\". Dios no s\u00f3lo prometi\u00f3 que el beb\u00e9 de Isabel experimentar\u00eda el Esp\u00edritu Santo antes de que naciera, sino que Elizabeth fue una participante activa en este momento hist\u00f3rico. Elizabeth, sin titubear y sin timidez, comienza a bendecir a Mar\u00eda y a su beb\u00e9, al hablar palabras de aliento y confirmar las palabras del \u00e1ngel sobre Mar\u00eda; palabras que Mary ni siquiera hab\u00eda compartido. Matthew Henry dice que \"no parece que a Elizabeth le hayan dicho nada sobre el dise\u00f1o de su prima Mary para la madre del Mes\u00edas; y por lo tanto, el conocimiento que ella parece haber tenido sobre \u00e9l debe haber venido por revelaci\u00f3n, lo cual ser\u00eda un gran est\u00edmulo para Mar\u00eda \"(comentario, Lucas 1: 39-56). Solo puedo imaginar cu\u00e1n sagrado se sinti\u00f3 ese momento para esas mujeres, ya que vieron la esperada promesa de Dios para su pueblo desplegarse frente a sus propios ojos, a trav\u00e9s de sus propios cuerpos. Hasta este momento catastr\u00f3fico en sus vidas, Mary y Elizabeth no podr\u00edan haber sido m\u00e1s diferentes. Mary era joven, comprometida, en el precipicio de lo que debe haber parecido \"feliz para siempre\". Elizabeth era cincuenta a\u00f1os mayor que Mary, est\u00e9ril, abandonada y olvidada por la sociedad. Sin embargo, Dios no vio su edad, su inexperiencia o sus supuestas deficiencias. \u00c9l vio dos corazones que estaban dispuestos y obedientes a su Esp\u00edritu y us\u00f3 sus historias muy diferentes para poner en marcha su plan de redenci\u00f3n milagrosa para toda la humanidad. Mar\u00eda podr\u00eda haber ignorado el comentario del \u00e1ngel, creyendo que Elizabeth era demasiado mayor y estaba demasiado dispuesta a entender a Mar\u00eda. Elizabeth podr\u00eda haber empujado a Mar\u00eda lejos, molesta por una ni\u00f1a peque\u00f1a e ignorante y rechaz\u00f3 las impresiones del Esp\u00edritu Santo. En cambio, estas dos potencias se rebelaron con una fe extrema, respondieron con una obediencia que destrozaba la cultura y unieron<\/em> el Reino de Dios. Se apoyaban mutuamente, se animaban mutuamente y cre\u00edan el uno en el otro cuando la sociedad quer\u00eda burlarse de ellos y aplastarlos. \u00bfPueden imaginarse lo que las mujeres de la IPHC podr\u00edan lograr hoy si respondi\u00e9ramos al mundo como Mary y Elizabeth? El Esp\u00edritu Santo te ha dado ojos para ver y palabras para hablar. \u00a1M\u00e1s joven o m\u00e1s viejo, te animo a que sigas audazmente a donde el Se\u00f1or te gu\u00ede, y apoy\u00e1ndote unos a otros mientras avanzamos en el Reino de los Cielos!","author_name":"Kaleigh Hamilton","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/07\/Kaleigh-All-Gen.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-11p","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3931"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3931\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}