Answer to Bible in the Bubble! Plus, Bubble Awards!

Welcome to the answer and awards portion of Bible in the Bubble!

The question from Monday was:

The scene of the Visitation in the New Testament (Luke 1:39-56) contains striking parallels to what scene in the Old Testament? Elaborate.


Answer:

There is a thrilling discovery when a passage from the New Testament so beautifully parallels, prefigures and fulfills a passage from the Old Testament. In this case, the Visitation scene in the New Testament (Mary on a journey, visiting her cousin Elizabeth) is strikingly similar to 2 Samuel 6:4-16, the scene of David on a journey with the Ark of the Covenant.

St. Luke's passage draws a beautiful parallel between Our Lady and the Ark. As Catholics, we identify Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant for many reasons, including the obvious: the old Ark was the pure vessel in which dwelt the Word of God (the Ten Commandments), and the New Ark (Mary) was the pure vessel in which dwelt the Word of God (made flesh!).

But there is so much more than that!

In those two short Bible scenes in Luke and Samuel, we see the following parallels (excerpted here from Steve Ray):

• Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judea.... Mary and the ark were both on a journey to the same hill country of Judea.
• When David saw the ark he rejoiced and said, "How can the ark of the Lord come to me?" Elizabeth uses almost the same words: "Why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Luke is telling us something—drawing our minds back to the Old Testament, showing us a parallel.
• When David approached the ark he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the ark. He was wearing an ephod, the clothing of a priest. When Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, approached Elizabeth, John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb—and John was from the priestly line of Aaron. Both leapt and danced in the presence of the ark. The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months, and Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months. The place that housed the ark for three months was blessed, and in the short paragraph in Luke, Elizabeth uses the word blessed three times. Her home was certainly blessed by the presence of the ark and the Lord within.
• When the Old Testament ark arrived—as when Mary arrived—they were both greeted with shouts of joy. The word for the cry of Elizabeth’s greeting is a rare Greek word used in connection with Old Testament liturgical ceremonies that were centered around the ark and worship (cf.Word Biblical Commentary, 67). This word would flip on the light switch for any knowledgeable Jew.
• The ark returns to its home and ends up in Jerusalem, where God’s presence and glory is revealed in the temple (2 Sam. 6:12; 1 Kgs. 8:9–11). Mary returns home and eventually ends up in Jerusalem, where she presents God incarnate in the temple (Luke 1:56; 2:21–22).

It seems clear that Luke has used typology to reveal something about the place of Mary in salvation history. In the Ark of the Old Covenant, God came to his people with a spiritual presence, but in Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, God comes to dwell with his people not only spiritually but physically, in the womb of a specially prepared Jewish girl.

The section above, in blue, can be found here, along with several other Biblical parallels between Mary and the Ark. I strongly urge you to read the entire article.... It will take your breath away!

Now for the part you have all been waiting for.....

The Bubble Awards!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, this rarely happens, but there are three recipients of the Riding an Emotional Roller Coaster Award -- Brit, Megan and Lauren, for cycling from excitement to despair in a matter of seconds! Interestingly, this is also called the You Need to Read the Question More Carefully Next Time Award! Congratulations on the triple-double award, ladies!

But wait! Brit and Lauren have achieved the double-triple, because they have also won the Best Presentation and Explication of a Wrong Answer Award! Your wrong answers were excellent!!

The Best Display of Self-Deprecating Catholic Humor Award goes to... Jennifer (for reminding us all that we need to know our Bibles better... after all, it's a Catholic Book)!!

The Yes, It Counts for Something, But Your Reward Will Be in Heaven Not on this Quiz Show Award goes to.... JellyBelly!!

And finally, the GRAND PRIZE (as prophesied by some of the commenters already) goes to.... 

Mrs. Blondies!!! 

{Applause, applause, applause!!}

Unfortunately, Mrs. Blondies gets no holey soap and nothing else either, except the satisfaction of winning a GRAND PRIZE Bubble Award, which includes bragging rights!

(Some people would give their right arm for that award, right Lauren? Although Lauren did get three awards today.... )

Join us next time and thanks for playing along!!

*PS: Please note that I normally don't cut and paste an answer like that, nor do I wait this long to answer, but I have been swamped lately. Forgive?