The leaping for joy

Tree lightings, decorated windows, advent wreaths, help to underline the physical reality of the Christmas season.
The infancy narrative in Luke and the first reactions to the news of Jesus’ impending birth show similar literal physical reactions: Zechariah is troubled and struck dumb by news of his son’s forthcoming birth, Mary is puzzled and becomes pregnant as a result of the message she receives, John the Baptist “leaps for joy” in his mother’s womb upon Mary’s arrival.
That leaping for joy and proclamation of the greatness of this moment is at the center of all of today’s reading.
May we all stand in the same way before the promise offered to us in this Advent as we await that time when “flowers appear on the earth” (Sgs 2: 12).