“‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34).
Today is the day before the birth of Christ. It is Christmas Eve…
Now, this is not really the day before the birth of God Himself... After all, during the fourth century (in the year 336AD to be exact) the DATE of Christmas was selected to be on 25 December as the timing coincided with existing pagan festivals.
And that means that the 25 December is not the date upon which Christ was actually born – rather it is the date upon which we remember the BIRTH of Christ… And so – though it is unlikely that God Himself was born two thousand years tomorrow – what is likely is that I shall be reflecting upon the birth of Christ today and tomorrow and during the next few days as well…
And why? What do I think about when I reflect on the birth of Christ?
Well, I used to think about the stable and the manger. I used to think about the smell of the animals and the wind and the cold and the poverty. I used to think about the swaddling clothes that covered the very Body of God.
But today – as I have been thinking about Christ – I have come to think about Zechariah – the father of John the Baptist…
When the Angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and told him that his wife, Elizabeth, would conceive a son, Zechariah did not look at this HEAVENLY messenger with the eyes of faith. No. He looked at him with scepticism. He saw an actual real-life angel standing right there in front of him and STILL he doubted the power of God…
“Zechariah asked the angel, ‘How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.’ The angel said to him, ‘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. And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.’” (Luke 1:18-20).
And it is those words of Zechariah that have echoed over the millennia since the birth of Christ, and they are the words echoing in my mind today…
“‘How can I be sure of this?...’” (Luke 1:18)… And I pity Zechariah for his lack of faith. I pity him from the bottom of my heart – for I am even less than he…
You see, just as Zechariah stood in front of a little piece of Heaven and DOUBTED, so too do it. For my guardian angel is with me always, and every breath of my life is a miracle of God. And still I doubt…
And I have been thinking about that – because the Blessed Virgin did not doubt. Not for a moment… And this is not to say that she did not question. For she did. She questioned the Angel Gabriel when he appeared to her… “‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’” (Luke 1:34). But the difference between the Blessed Virgin and Zechariah is that she questioned but did not DOUBT. She questioned with FAITH. She questioned so that she could better fulfil the Holy Will of God. In other words, having no understanding of HOW she could accomplish this task set before her, she ASKED the Angel – this representative of God – to help her. And the Angel answered her and thus HELPED her…
“‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?’ The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God…’ … ‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” (Luke 1:34-38).
You see, the Blessed Virgin saw that Angel, listened to his message, and sought to understand it better so that she could better comply with the Holy Will of God…
And when I think about that reaction, I am literally blown away in awe. For Christ was born – God entered Time and Space – through the acquiescence of the Virgin… Because she simply asked, “How will this be…?”
And when I compare this with the doubt of Zechariah (which is far far less than my own doubts) I consider the wonder of this Woman… For the birth of the Christ was a FAR greater miracle than the conception of a child by a woman of advanced years… After all – there was no MAN involved in the conception of Christ… And yet, the Blessed Virgin simply believed.
And as I reflect on that today, I cannot help but pause in wonder – right here in the middle of my Christmas preparations. For the Blessed Virgin did not doubt… And I need to ask her to intercede for me so that I shall receive the Grace to imitate her…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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