It was one of those moments when faith meets faith. Such moments move us to search for the mighty or the magnificent. When we think of them, we may think of the heroines of the faith doing heroic acts, or look for champions performing dauntless deeds.

But today, if we look for the magnificent moments of faith only in the mighty, the proud and the powerful, we shall miss seeing one of scripture's great acts of faith completely.

It comes in a simple visit between two family members, both of whom are expecting a child. Both have had some strange events surround their pregnancy and both probably needed some reassuring - especially the younger of the two, who was new to the responsibilities of life, not to mention this matter of life giving.

Through the years we have sought to soften the scene by romanticizing the struggles of faith right out of the Christmas story Someone has said that, like her depiction on some bulletin or magazine covers, Mary is always portrayed as "being beautiful, fair, her clothing spotless, her face radiant."1 She looks like she has just stepped out of a beauty parlor and doesn't have a care in the world. Seeing her, one would think that here is a woman who knows exactly what is going on -- but nothing could be further from the truth.

Luke discovered that after Mary's visit from the angel -- a visit that irreversibly changed her life -- Mary decided that she needed some help sorting everything out.

And who wouldn't? After all, it is not every day that an angel shows up on one's doorstep to announce not only that you're pregnant but that the baby is somehow, some way, God's child. It is not every day that one has to break this kind of news to the family or, worse yet, the man to whom she is about to be married. Then came the days of waiting while Joseph wrestles with what to do. Does he believe or not? Can this be true or is the woman he is about to spend the rest of his life with, to put it gently, a little unstable? It is a lot for anyone to go through alone, the waiting and wondering.

So Mary turns to the only one she can think of, someone who, that gossipy angel told her, has just had a similar experience. More than a generation separates the two, as does some distance, but Mary knows that if she is going to make any sense of this at all she is going to have to turn to her friend and cousin Elizabeth. She is older, wiser, and may be able to help her get a handle on just exactly what is happening.

So, Luke relates the story, as soon as the angel left her, "with little delay Mary got ready and hurried off to the hillside town in Judea where Zacharias and Elizabeth lived."2

It was a moment when Mary needed some support. She needed to hear from someone older and more discerning that not only what was happening was God's will but that Mary would be up to the task. To put it simply: while Mary believed in God's promise, she needed another human being to believe in her. She needed someone to comfort her and say, "Mary, you have done the right thing and because you have -- believe it or not -- you'll be up to anything you have to face."