Be a May
The Gospel of Luke tells of two annunciations. In the first, the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah, a priest who is married to Elizabeth. When Zecheriah is inside the temple burning incense, Gabriel startles the man with a bold announcement: Elizabth will give birth to a boy, and they should name him John. Further, this child will grow into a man who goes on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1.17). Now we might think that John, being a priest, would greet this proclamation with exceeding jubilation. First, he and his wife will become parents (and given their age, that seemed an abandoned possibility), and second, God will endow this child with the spirit of Elijah. We might think … and we would be wrong. Instead, a doubting Zechariah quips to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” (Luke 1.18). The angel responds with displeasure, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news” (Luke 1.19).
Let’s now consider the second annunciation. Gabiel comes to young women named Mary – a virgin betrothed to Joseph. The angel declares, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1.31-33). Wow, there is lots to process in this proclamation: (1) Mary, a virgin, will give birth to a son; (2) this son will be called the Son of the Most High; and (3) he will reign upon David’s throne in kingdom without end. Mary’s only questions regards her virginity. The angel explains the Holy Spirit will come upon her, thus allowing her child to be the Son of God. At these seemingly unfathomable claims, Mary responds, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1.38). At that, Gabriel departs.
These two annunciations are met with two different responses: Zechariah expresses doubt while Mary replies with faith. In both cases, Gabriel declares a certainty from God. John will be born regardless of his father’s faith - or lack thereof. Jesus will be born regardless of his mother’s faith. For both Zechariah and Mary, they learn the certainty of God’s plan, and their only sphere of authority is their response. Nothing else.
The lesson for us emerges. The work of God goes forward, and this work does not hinge our belief. The great plans of God are not somehow befuddled by human faithlessness. The simple question we face is the same question faced by two pending parents some two millennia ago: does God work through us or around us? For Zechariah, God worked around him. Hence, John’s father was stricken mute until affirming his wife’s declaration that their son will be named ‘John.’ For Mary, God works through her. In fact, God provides great encouragement to her when Elizabeth, the pregnant wife of Zecheriah, visits a pregnant Mary. The unborn John reacts to the unborn Jesus, resulting in Elizabeth proclaiming, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” (Luke 1.42).
Return again to us, the question remains: Does God work through us or around us? We seek the former. We seek to be partners in God’s plans - not obstacles. And often, as in Luke 1, we answer this question with a single action: faith. Do we trust God? And specifically, do we trust in a miracle-working God who brings about a future that is beyond belief? Let’s do that. Let’s believe. Let’s trust God. Quite frankly, what do we have to lose? As we enter into the advent season, let’s be a Mary - not a Zechariah. Let’s embrace the godly wonder of Christmas. Let’s trust a God who miraculously brought his son into the world for the purpose of saving us from our sins.
In the end, both Mary and Zechariah praise God. The work of God would not be thwarted. Both would believe. Both would have faith. Zechariah just took an avoidable and inglorious path.
