Like Mother, Like Son

 

We don't often think about the influence the mothers of John the Baptist and of Jesus had on their sons. Here's an illuminating quote from Jann Cather Weaver:
Mary and Elizabeth were women living in a time when, not unlike aspects of today, religion had become fossilized, seeking to control society rather than transform society. They, however, sought to live radically faithful lives in response to the call from their God. Not unexpectedly, these women lived lives like those of their soon-to-be-born sons. Do we think John and Jesus just "knew" how to live radically faithful lives? how to be preachers? how to be as eloquent as the Magnificat? how to be healers? John and Jesus knew how to live radically faithful lives because they were sons of two women who had faithfully faced a terrifying yet expectant reality.
The picture is my driveway at 9 AM with more than a foot of snow and it hasn't stopped since then. It's now 2:15 PM.