In Luke, the lives of John the Baptist and Jesus are closely interwoven from the time of their conceptions to the time of Jesus' entrance into public ministry. Luke relates in detail the angelically announced beginnings of both John and Jesus. These two parallel stories finally come together in today's gospel text as Elizabeth and Mary, the two mothers, meet and reveal their surprising conditions to each other.

Everything about this meeting is unusual. Mary, apparently unchaperoned and alone, journeys to her kinswoman Elizabeth's home to see for herself whether the angelic messenger's words about Elizabeth were true.

But perhaps the most unusual thing about Mary's journey to visit Elizabeth is that their meeting results in a remarkable dialogue. Not only is the content of this conversation…