Christmas Questions

Christmas and some gnawing questions

Advent and Christmas 2017 takes a twist for us.  For years, our calendar filled up with familiar seasonal activities, outreach to needy families, personal preparations, and always wondering if we will have snow on December 25. While stationed at Grand Falls Citadel about ten years ago, the meaning of Advent especially deepened for us during our Sunday morning worship times. The message?  Christ, light of the world, remains unshakable as we learn to ‘wait’ for God to fulfill His promise. Here in Kenya, observing Advent is not a particularly common practice, so we introduced it to our THQ family. We’ve made a wreath from an old Christmas tree and found some candles to use.  In a country where uncertainty is always just below the surface, it was appropriate to begin our reflections with the candle of HOPE.  

At home, we placed our miniature tree and modest decorations (less is more!) in the corner of our living room while sipping a cold beverage in shorts & t-shirts (a first). Our special ornaments still reflect what we value most – family and friends and the handmade wooden Nativity set (a gift from Sherman & Dona Stryde) points to what’s important.  We confess we are still adapting to the absence of planning and enjoying our family gatherings this month– though grateful we had Christmas Day in October! J And happy that Don and Denise are coming on Dec. 23.

Last week, I reached for one of my favourite Christmas books by Stormie Ormartian. The short chapters echo how God fulfilled his Genesis promise to provide a Saviour for fallen humanity.  As I read again what happened to Zechariah, I began to stir a little and in the midst of all I know to be true, some gnawing questions caused me to wonder …

Biblical text: Luke 1

Why does it sometimes look like God treats people differently?  I know He doesn’t but the appearance occasionally surfaces. Why was Zechariah punished when he doubted and questioned God but Mary wasn’t?  When an angel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would bear a child (the forerunner to Jesus), he was afraid (‘gripped with fear’) and asked: “how can my wife possibly become pregnant when she has been barren for years and is now very old?” Logical inquiry. When the angel emerged later to Mary announcing her pending conception, she also responded with fear and unbelief.  “How can I conceive when I am a virgin?” Yet, Zechariah was given a silent tongue for the whole of his wife’s pregnancy - more than a little embarrassing if you ask me. He was a priest and speaking was essential, wasn’t it? At the same time, Mary’s doubting was left as it was. I know it wouldn’t be easy for Mary to face her situation and her community. She would be ridiculed and potentially ostracized.  No doubt that was more than enough to contend with, but why the consequences for Zechariah?

What did the priest do to deserve this? Simply question God? In character, Zechariah is an upright, faithful man, even blameless. So why this? Is the whole conversation not recorded? Did his bewildering escalate into a further argument? Was God really punishing him for some sin? One scholar suggests Zehchariah’s question was one of needless doubt when he should have truly believed, but Mary’s question was simply childlike faith with a normal query “how can this be”?  

Does it really matter though? Was God expecting a better response from a mature spiritual man than from an innocent, naïve young girl?  

Perhaps we will never know the answer to our Christmas questions, like other mysteries about God. So ... is it more a matter of truth?  Bottom line - we do not always understand why certain things happen to some people and not to others. The questions continue.

Why does the ‘permissive’ will of God allow tough things to occur without some reasonable rationale?  I remember something that happened in our family a long time ago.  One of my first cousins, a young man in his early 20’s, was murdered. His parents, my aunt and uncle, were (and still are), godly Christian people. Surely they must have asked: why Lord? I don’t know if the answer ever came.

To consider God punishing Zechariah for some character flaw seems highly unlikely and uncharacteristic of God’s nature. Perhaps the better question is: how did Zechariah eventually respond? Jerk reactions seldom reveal our truest self. When we stay with the story, both Zechariah and Mary accept what God revealed to them. They were humbled and trusted God for what they did not understand. 

We will not always reason out our circumstances or find a cause for what God gives to us. It is unlikely we will ever explain why ‘bad things happen to good people’ or why some situations seem unwarranted, unjust, or just plain tough in the moment and we wish it were different. It’s true in the face of enormous global injustice and it can be true in the privacy of our own context. Perhaps the only invitation God gives us is one of deep trust. Trust in His unchanging good nature, His sovereignty to see what we cannot. And His promise that one day all things (public and private) which seem unequal and unfair will be reconciled in a better way. 

God came into the world. “He took on flesh and moved into our neighborhood.” (John 1:12, The Message). He is one with us – in every situation of life. He is not always understood. He is always good.