Doubt at Christmastime

[The Midweek Encounter is a ministry of Encounter Church in Kentwood, MI. These posts are reflections on Sunday's message, which can be heard here each week: http://myencounterchurch.org/#/messages-media] 

While fairy tales are often thought of as being primarily for children, some of us adults love them too. There’s something about the magic, the dramatic stories, the happily ever afters that resonate with us long past our childhood years. Real life is so rarely like a fairy tale that it’s nice to escape to a land where we can believe good will overcome evil and the endings will get tied up with a pretty red bow.

Photo Credit: Haitao Zeng

The Christmas story has little in common with fairy tales. As we read the story recorded in Luke 1, it’s easy to let our familiarity with it overshadow the extraordinary nature of what’s actually taking place. Our main characters didn’t grow up in castles or own diamond-studded tiaras. Instead, Mary was a normal teenager who was engaged to a normal man named Joseph, and then the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and turned her future into a shape she never would have expected. 

First Gabriel told Mary she was "highly favored," and "Mary was greatly troubled and wondered what kind of greeting this must be" (Luke 1:29). Gabriel went on to tell her she had found favor with God and would give birth to a son. Not only was she going to have a baby, but that baby would be God-made-man, come to save the world. Having grown up in a Jewish household, Mary likely would have heard the prophecies foretelling the coming Messiah. As the enormity of what the angel was telling her sank in, Mary may have felt confused, ill-equipped, and scared. Her first response was a practical question about how this would happen considering she was a virgin, which at first glance seems very similar to Zechariah’s question earlier in the chapter.

When Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and announced that Zechariah’s wife would have a baby, Zechariah had some questions just as Mary did. The way he presented his question was different though. “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well in years” (Luke 1: 18). Zechariah went to practicality with a doubt that this could actually come to be, whereas Mary’s question was a simple “How?” She didn’t stay in her doubt, either. Instead of wallowing in it, she allowed it to push her to ask questions, while also accepting she was unlikely to come to a complete understanding of what was truly happening. Even as she questioned, she stayed open to the possibilities of what God was going to do. 

After the angel explained a bit more, Mary replied with acceptance. “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Next Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth, and as she traveled, perhaps the reality of what was happening began to take hold. It would have been easy for Mary to arrive at Elizabeth’s house and begin explaining all about how afraid she was and how none of this was according to the plan she had for her life. Instead, Mary worshiped, singing a beautiful song praising God for who he is and how he had seen fit to use her according to his plan. 

When our own stories become full of unexpected, confusing, and even painful experiences, we often begin to question God. From Mary we learn that questioning God isn’t necessarily bad, if our intention is to continue to seek him and truly discover what he has for us. The Christmas season is supposed to be filled with joy and delight, but it doesn’t always turn out like we want it to. In these difficult seasons, we have the choice to sit in our doubt and turn away from God with it, or to take our doubt back to God. In our least fairy tale-like times, we can respond like Mary and ask God to remind us who he is, and that because of the gift of Jesus all eventually shall be made well.

[Brianna DeWitt is a Christmas enthusiast. She believes in Jesus, surrounding yourself with good people, and that desserts are best when they involve chocolate and peanut butter. She writes about faith, growing up, and whatever else pops into her head on her own blog, and tweets (largely about food) at @bwitt722.]