Compositions

Is Christmas Just for Kids?

I’ve heard many adults, particularly older adults without children or ones whose children are adults, say, “Christmas is just for the kids.” I hear many sounds in there voices as people say this. It may be well disguised, but I often hear a dispare or a quiet longing and sometimes a hint of bitterness.

Are they wrong? Let’s face it, many if not a lot, of the stuff we do at Christmas are geared around fun for kids. If we don’t want to face that its likely because we have kids and we have to do all the kid things with them and it’s easy to feel some of that fun. (Well, as long as nothing goes wrong.)

I’m gonna put forth a something that feels harsh to write—whomever feels that “Christmas is just for the kids” hasn’t really observed Christmas. Or at least they aren’t observing it now. Advent is a time to remember the the anticipation of the promise of Christ’s coming since the Fall of Man. Advent is an intentional time to prepare ones heart for worship during Christ Mass. It’s not meant to be 4 weeks of party and food. In fact in some traditions there were fasts and no dances.

Christmas is absolutely for adults. It’s a time to reflect on the humble estate of man, to recognize the pain and suffering of this world is full of tragedy and woe. It’s meant for those who morn. For the hope of Christmas points us to the hope we have in Christ’s return. And we are in a bigger picture of Advent that may not have all happiness and joy in it yet, but will very likely have stress, and burnout, and trauma. He is the light in the darkness. Christmas meant for those who dispare, or feel a quiet longing, even if its tinted with bitterness.

Our families advent tonight:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…….And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John 1:1‭-‬5‭, ‬14 NASB
(Though I suggest reading the entire passage, it beautiful and feels like a poem to me.)

Hymn: Oh Come, All Ye Faithful

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee;
Born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be Glory giv’n;
Word of the Father;
Now in flesh appearing;

O come let us adore Him;
O come let us adore Him;
O come let us adore Him;
Christ the Lord!

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

Solemn Advent, Joyous Christmas

Modern Christmas season often feels exhausting, hollow, and meaningless. It can be stressful on tight budgets. It is often a list of one fun party or celebration or excitement after another.

The weeks before Christmas were never meant to be a time of celebration. It was more solem time for looking forward to celebrating.

What we refer to as the Christmas season was originally called advent. The meaning of advent is derived from Latin “adventus” it means “to come” or “arrival.” The idea was to spend the time leading up to Christmas looking forward in a more contemplative way not by starting celebrations. After Christmas day there was 12 days of celebration ending in a feast of Epiphany.

Christmas is not in the Bible. Christ’s birth and events leading up to it are of course, but the concept of Advent and Christmas were invented by the Catholic church. As far as I can tell or guess (I’m not a historian) the Protestants didn’t entirely give up Christmas probably because of tradition or a desire to look forward to something good in the darkest, coldest part of the year. Eventually there came a switch of celebrating first and a little bit of reflection on Christ’s birth near the end.

I know people who refuse to celebrate Christmas because it’s not in the Bible. If Christmas follows the more modern pattern I tend to agree. I have often felt an unsettling hollow meaninglessness in December. However as I discovered the more original intentions behind Advent, the solemness of it, I feel drawn to the discipline of taking time for Advent, to allow for the quiet solemn moments to drive my heart and mind to the second Advent of Christ.

Advent and Christmas are now a reminder to me of the future of Christ’s return when there will be great rejoicing with great joy. Until then we may move along in our life with the pressure to create a heaven on earth. If we quit trying to aim at heaven on earth, then the hardships of life, the pain, the suffering aren’t meaningless and hollow but are part of the life we have now as we look forward to a time when the sorrow and tears wiped away. By trying to put the Christmas celebration before the Advent, the celebration has less meaning. And when things go wrong, the pain and trouble also has no meaning. If everything is supposed to be all good and happy and perfect, then when something terrible happens it makes all the good things have less meaning because they never allowed for the bad to exist. Attempting Heaven on earth creates the same vain and meaningless hedonism that turns nihilistic when tragedy strikes.

If you feel like Christmas has no real excitement or meaning to you this year, try a time of quiet reflection or advent.

Tonight’s verse in our family Advent is

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

–Revelation 22:13

Hymn–
Of the Father’s love begotten
ere the worlds began to be,
he is Alpha and Omega,
he the Source, the Ending he,
of the things that are, that have been,
and that future years shall see,
evermore and evermore!

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

Societal Bearing Walls

Whenever I hear people talk about something being socially constructed; its talked about like whatever it is isn’t real, or that it is something arbitrary. The attitude being that if something is socially constructed it can also be deconstructed just by stating its been socially constructed.

If something IS socially constructed it didn’t get constructed in a day like a barn or can change as fast as the next generation of phones. Whatever IT is, has been constructed over generations upon, generations upon, generations upon, generations. Why would anyone assume that just because something is a social construct its completely arbitrary and meaningless? It maybe so old you can’t readily see the reason, and it is entirely possible that the construct isn’t needed any more. But to just assume that is, is beyond arrogant. Its like deciding to take a wall down in your home because you want one big room instead of two. How foolish is it to assume the builders made it arbitrarily! For all you know its a bearing wall and taking it down will cause structural damage to the house.

“Don’t ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.”

― G. K. Chesterton

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

Memories & Imagination: The past and the future

blur book stack books bookshelves

Memories are real.

I can walk though my college library in my minds eye and remember the different sounds on each floor, the temperature change from one floor to the next, even the smell.

But that place no longer exist. It was destroyed in a fire. The structure is there and remodeled but it is not a library.

Its new. I have no idea what it smells like, and might even get a little lost there now.

If what you remember is gone, in a way memories are more real than what is remembered.

Where these memories are stored feels like the same place my imagination stays.

Does that alter my perception of memory or of imagination or both?

My guess is that my imagination changes my memories a little. I can’t tell if that’s a relief, if that is sad, or if it is scary. I suppose all three can be so.

What if I imagine my past differently than it happened? Without memory of the past how do we know who we are now? If we imagine a past differently than it was, how can we know which way we are heading?

Maybe this is why we need community, friends (and foes), and family to help us as individuals but also as a society remember what was, so that we can imagine what will be.

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

Noble Knight

I used to tell my kids that integrity was doing the right thing just because it was right. I thought this is was noble. But I don’t think that is quite right anymore.

I thought of the character of the Noble Knight. He is honest, stalwart, has integrity, does the right thing when nobody’s watching. It is easy assume wrongly his motives come from himself. That he simply does the right thing because it is right. No. He does what was right because of his love and loyalty to his king, to whom he swore allegiance. It seems to those who meet the knight that the stalwart nature is a personal strength springing from himself. However, his strength is not from within to honor himself, but for the king, with whom he has an unseen relationship–for the king is not present.

Noble people are also loyal to The King of Kings. They do what is right not because it is right, but because it is eternal. When we see the noble person, we begin to trust them and rely on them. They teach us how to trust. They give us a sense of security, or a sense of strength when they respect us. When such people leave us or fail in body and breath, at their last we feel broken. When we look at them, we see a bit of eternity. There is nothing temporal about their nobility. Maybe that’s why it’s a shock that they pass on; they are not the strong one in whom we are hoping. No, instead our hero is weak, but we see the eternal strength of the Person who sent our hero to us. We must now choose to trust the One who strengthened our noble father, friend, or brother lest we lose hope because we were only hoping in what was seen instead of what was unseen. But what we saw was a testimony to what we cannot see, that which is everlasting, that which was eternal, that which was out of loyalty to the King.

“Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

When our Noble Knights leaves us, how will we respond? Will we be pick up their swords and shields? Will we find the One strengthened them?

Copyright 2019 J.A. Goggans

Compositions

Political Memes Make Me Sad.

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Political Memes make me sad, even the ones that are funny. I’ve notice a demographic, its mostly Republicans/Conservatives in the Baby Boomer generation that fill my feed with Political Memes. Granted that’s probably a conservatively Skewed sample. These memes do little to persuade me, even if I might agree. I’m Generation X. I like you, baby-boomers. I think you can teach us a lot. Many of you personally knew the “Greatest Generation!” If we want to have any hope in Conserving Liberty (being Conservatives I hope we want that), maybe a little throw back to the past might teach us how to make progress with out undermining what we built our current civilization on.

I don’t care for memes because they are just a title. They don’t prove anything. They are just a sound bite. A meme might be your thesis but it does not provide supporting statements to support your argument. Thesis Memes are what is wrong with our culture. When people (often millennial) protest conservative speakers by shouting chats over their speeches it is childish to say the least. However, colleges are either too afraid of losing their enrollment or they actually believe that shouting a thesis over and over again proves the point. Either way, they cheer these students on. While memeing Facebook is a great deal less rude than shouting down fellow human being, it stems from the same problem–the inability or the laziness to express the reasons for a particular stance. If you can’t articulate at least three reason why your meme is correct. I suggest keep it to yourself.

Second, memes often carry incorrect facts. This might be the most frustrating thing about memes. Memes aren’t always up to date and people do lie! I’m not saying you are lying dear Facebook friend, just that maybe your meme was written by someone less honorable. Even if it was created by an honest person it is entirely possible that the facts are old, the statistics have changed, or there is a new status quo. Some memes I have check out are true, but so many of them are not and they are often easy to verify. I suggest run the statements of the meme through the Google or the Bing. If you find any sources to back up your info, post it along with the meme.

Third memes are impersonal. Facebook is impersonal enough. When I first started on Facebook, I loved when people actually said something about their day, what they were thinking, or told stories. So much of Facebook now is impulse sharing. I would much rather read what you think about politics than be spattered with political memes that are probably not even true. My suggestion let’s make Facebook Great Again and make your status an actual status of how you are doing or what you are thinking.

So, to my political Facebook meme posting friends, I still like you. I have not de-friended you. I haven’t blocked you. Please, though, I beg you, tell me about your grand kids! Or better yet tell me about your grandparents –The Greatest Generation– and what ways they made America Great so we can learn how to make it even better.

Copyright 2019 J.A. Goggans

Compositions

The Reunion of the Trees

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I sat watching the spring leaves flutter in the woods. Are they rejoicing like the old friends coming together for a reunion? Movement and excitement floats in the breeze. Those leaves have never seen each other though. They can’t be old friends and they are way too familiar to be strangers. The leaves don’t know anyone, they are so young they don’t even know themselves. The trees aren’t new, but they knew their forest friends for a long time. No, it’s the trees themselves that are having the reunion after a long winter. Standing so close to each other all that time without really being able to play—it’s a strange kind of loneliness. Or do they slumber during that time? And is it really all that strange? Is it not the worst kind of loneliness in a crowed that doesn’t speak to you? That won’t greet you? That doesn’t even see you?  I suppose underground they have been keeping up with each other but it’s been cold and much too dangerous to get out. Now they are playing and taking long deep breaths after losing their lungs all winter. They are happy.

Summer leaves are much calmer. I suppose they have learned a thing or two about who they are by that time. The trees can certainly breath slower now that they have caught their breaths. There is little to say or catch up on. In the summer you can feel their presence in their stillness like breathing watchful giants. There is this kind of fullness in the summer. No longer is there a reunion. They are unified in knowing silence–intimacy that allows for quiet thought–quiet but not shallow thoughts.

How painful it must be to say good bye in the fall. And fall it must feel to them. The trees gasp for air and let out one last exhale after another as each leaf turns its glorious shades. They scream in color as they lose connection to their branches. And spend the winter in black and white. One by one their voices die with each breath of the wind.

When the last leaf falls the forest is plunged in to what must feel like darkness to us–a cold, dark, lonely slumber. And they look forward to the yellow light to call them up and out. Oh, what a day of rejoicing that will be! They will sing and dance in victory over death. But now, death is all around them–bareness and isolation. Yet deep, deep down they feel each other is still alive.

One day the wind will blow a new song and the yellow light will sing to them, “Wake up! It’s time to meet again!” The party starts and they dance together once more.

 

 

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

A Quick Walk

couple

The boy talked with his friend on the way to class.
She laughed and it was real.
He saw it and his heart thumped unexpectedly.
He walked in to the classroom, with more than friendship in his heart.

Copyright 2019 J. A. Goggans

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Compositions

When bad things happen at Christmas

silhouette of woman during dawn
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Nineteen years ago my grandfather passed away two days after Christmas. I was in sort of a denial phase. The previous year, was a terrible Christmas. My other grandfather went into the hospital, he never fully recovered, and died six months later. I also spent that Christmas day in a prison visiting a relative–not metaphorically, but with real razor wire, guards, and inmates. It felt grey. I can’t remember the Christmas before when they were both alive and well. I can’t remember the last Christmas I had at my childhood home before everything changed forever.

For years I had a hard time with Christmas. I couldn’t look forward to it. I felt the dread of anticipation not the excitement. So many plans where the object is short lived happiness. What could go wrong? This is situation is about as fragile as the glass ornaments I see no reason to put on my tree with little children around. Christmas seemed like a lot of hype that had little to do with anything. A lot of vapor that was really gone in a second. Traditions seemed like a hollow excuse, a manipulation to relive some past moment that could never be captured—much like that vapor that life is. I still believe that tradition should never be used in such a way. But never the less, unlike any other holiday or season, a large part of Christmas is memories, tradition, and nostalgia.

When something bad happens at Christmas it memorializes that tragedy in a unique way. I don’t mean ordinary bad things like being late for work, burning dinner, or the car breaking down. I mean the kind of thing that when revealed it leaves you with that sick hollow ache that won’t leave you even when the morning comes. It keeps you from sleeping, relentlessly hangs on you, and you know down deep that even if you heal and things are made new nothing will be the same. Same. Same isn’t that what people try to do at Christmas? Go back to some Same Place that comforts and brings joy. But now, now, this is the new normal this new thing this horror, this tragedy is the thing you will remember every year or you remember nothing. The evil corrupts even the good Christmases.

Its hard to write this I don’t want to go down this haunted path. But I know, know it in my heart that others experienced death, betrayal, and grief when the world is full of nothing but twinkle lights and parties. And I want to share the hope I found.

Quite awhile ago I began a journey answering the question, “What if I was motivate by joy instead of fear?” Now when I asked this, I didn’t necessarily have a lot of joy and since then, fear still has raised its monstrous head. But the journey of asking the question led me to a see that I had an earthly world view of life and not an eternal one. While this perspective has grown there was one particular moment where it was solidified, and that moment redeemed Christmas even the saddest ones giving them permission to be horrible and sad. And, they lost their power to corrupt.

Two years ago and about 10 months into my journey in Joy, I attended a devotional that my son’s 7th grade class lead. Each student shared a verse and to my surprise the verses were on joyfulness. The last verse was quoted by my own son. We all know the passage, even Linus!

Luke 2:9-10 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. (KJV)

That moment condensed fear vs joy; it was the culmination of my entire year and all of history in one verse. Without that moment in history, when the word became flesh, we wouldn’t have a hope of joy. Now I see Christmas differently because the Christmas season is a discipline in advent where we look forward in the wishes of Christmas Day joy. It reminds me that we are in a season of ADVENT right now. We are looking forward to the hope of Christ’s return. That hope is certain, it is not a wish. Embracing the future hope is what has given me joy when I felt like all was lost. That hollow feeling following tragedy has much to do with why the WORD became flesh and dwelt among us. He is the light in the darkness. He came to bring hope to all people torn by the darkness of this world.

4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4 (NASB)

Mourning and grief at Christmas is really just part of the larger story of ALL TIME. The modern Christmas season is a just the prism of The Story. It is a picture of it all. We weep now, but joy is promised. We can grieve even when joy is promised just as Jesus wept with the women when their brother died. Yet he was going to raise him in moments. Tragedy is part of life but we get through it because of the hope that we have in him. Christmas is no different, it is the hope that we have in him and everyone is celebrating around us. Like one day, when every knee will bow. This momentary light affliction is nothing compared to the eternal weight of glory! Turn your eyes upon Jesus and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. And suddenly our life isn’t just a vapor anymore it is ETERNAL. Death has lost its sting. We might not know what our life will be like tomorrow but we know that one day we will see him face to face and we will be like him for we shall see him as he is! Do you see how amazing that is? That we will be like HIM? That isn’t just being saved from our sins for that is mercy. For him to make us like him is grace, how can we even imagine what that will be like? We are looking forward in an advent, The Advent of all time, to the day when our joy will be realized, the darkness breaks, the morning comes, the tears are gone and the healing is complete.

“The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”
And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at least they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
– C.S Lewis, The Last Battle

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Compositions

Can I ask you a Question? – Part 3

bible book business christian
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Can I ask you a question?

I love questions but that one sounds a little funny.

No, you can’t but you just did so—yes.

I joke but questions are important and sometimes people don’t always feel welcome to ask them. This is the 3rd in a 3 part series on asking questions (Part 1, Part 2).

Some act as though questions about faith equal doubt at best or hearsay at the worst. I discussed the “at worst” part in my first post: Here I believe that asking questions is necessary part of all learning, which I discussed : Here. Asking questions may very well indicate a lack of faith or doubt. Yet, what does the Bible say about questioning and is there a difference between examining and doubting? Is there are better way to question and is there a better way to treat those asking questions?

Most stories have an ending. Stories without ending or resolve are unsettling. I remember growing up watching live television and whenever there was a two part episode I groaned. My mind always thought through those stories in the week(s) that followed, I think subconsciously I was trying to work out the unresolved questions in the story because I would sometimes forget that it was a “To be continued.” I would think through the story to the most unresolved, scene cut short, left hanging…

The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite series. At the end of the last book in the series the Narnia that readers fell in love with ended. The entire book feels out of sorts, it never quite feels like the other books because just when they think they have come to the turning point and everything will be set right again it isn’t. This continues time and again until they all face death. At first they don’t really know or think they have died, but they certainly have passed into a different world or realm. Since they have done this whenever they have moved from our world into Narnia and back this doesn’t seem that unexpected. Then they watch Narnia itself pass away. There is the sense of sadness and grief at first but then they look around to where they have been which appears to be a beautiful land. Very much like in the beginning when the children stepped through the Wardrobe, the heroes pass into a stable and instead of a tiny wardrobe or a stinky stable they find another world another. The other world turns out to be much like the old Narnia but more beautiful. However, they soon see that the Old Narnia was actually like the new one. The new Narnia is really THE Narnia and the Narnia they had known was a representation of the Real Narnia. The present Narnia is more real than the old one. Aslan calls them to come further up and further in. The adventures to come are better than all there old ones. They were like a cover story to the real one much like the first Narnia was a preview or a shadow lands of the Real Narnia. All the Chronicles of Narnia were just a preview of the stories to come. While nothing really bad could happen to them each story was better than the last. I love the ending. However, I am always a little unsettled because its hard to imagine a better story. Even so, I hope long for the sense of adventure and joy that C.S. Lewis portrays. The story resolves but it doesn’t end.

Just like no one likes a story that doesn’t have an end. I don’t think people like questions with out answers. Questions tend to resolve themselves like stories and we really don’t like the stories to change and we really don’t like our answer to change. Once a story is accepted, any change often bothers a lot of fans of the original. For example: Han shot first. But I digress. I think this might be the key reason why a questioner can bother people so much. It can make them feel unsettled if they are unsure of the reason for the accepted answer. They can feel that someone is trying to convince them their answers are wrong, they might feel they are trying to convince anyone listening as well. I don’t like it when movies change my favorite books. So I understand this to some degree but how should we respond to someone who is asking questions like this?

There are many places in Scripture I could point to, yet I want to point to three People(s). The first are the Beroeans, the 2nd is Zechariah and the 3rd is Mary. The Beroeans were a group of Christians that were praised for their searching out the Scriptures to see if what Paul said matched. None of their questions were recorded but they searched each thing they were taught to see if it was true.

Acts 17:10-12
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so. 12 Many of them became believers, as did not a few of the influential Greek women and men.

Paul the Apsotle wrote a large portion of what is now called the New Testament. If what Paul says can be questioned by the Beroeans and they get praised for it, I’m pretty sure that anything us present day Christians say about the Scriptures can also be questioned. The response is obvious, we should encourage anyone to do so.

Now does it matter how we question? The Beroeans were described as fair-minded. They weren’t trying to destroy Paul which is much like what those in Thessalonica were doing. When Zechairah was a chief priest in Israel. His wife Elizabeth was past child bearing years and they had not ever had children. An angel comes to him while he is in the Holy of Holies. (If you are unfamiliar with the Holy of Holies check out What is the Holy of Holies? ) What is important is, if a High Priest met someone in the Holy of Holies that someone is not another human and is a divine being sent from God or possibly God himself. The angel promises Zechairah that Elizabeth will have a baby and that they are supposed to name the child John and proclaims how he will turn people to the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. This was a big announcement. Zechariah questions the angel.

Luke 1:18
18 Then Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel said to him in reply, “I am Gabriel, who stand before God. I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. 20 But now you will be speechless and unable to talk until the day these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled at their proper time.”

His question, was not answered and was met with rebuke because he did not believe the message sent from God.

Immediately after the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary is told by the same angel, Gabriel, that she will have a baby. You are likely more familiar with this story if you have been to almost a church Christmas program. Mary also questions the Angel.

Luke 34-38
34 But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”
35 And the angel said to her in reply, “The holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. 36 And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; 37 for nothing will be impossible for God.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her.

The Angel just answers her question and there is no rebuke. Putting there questions side by side they are very similar.

“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” ~ Zechairah

“How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?” ~ Mary

They both have a question, that is backed with a reason for the question. They both have very logical reasons for their question. There is a slight difference in Zechariah, he wishes for confirmation, and Mary asks for the process. Luke explains as he tells the stories that Zechariah asked out of doubt (I wonder if it was even out of a little bit of bitterness) and Mary asks out of wonder. Zechariah was the high priest he wasn’t just young peasant with little knowledge God and no position. He should have known that the way he would KNOW this was because Gaberial who sees God came and told him in the Holy of Holies.

Luke careful researched what he wrote in his Gospel as well as the Book of Acts and I don’t think that these two stories put side by side like this is an accident. I think it is clear we are to compare these two stories. I think that most significant difference is there attitude when they questioned.

So what does that mean for us? When we do question we need to be careful to be asking with humble and honesty not as a challenge. When we are questioned I think we need to encourage the questioner. How do we know for sure what motives are behind the questions? We do not have the same kind of knowledge or authority of the angel Gabriel, who stands before God, who was proclaiming a direct message from God. We have a message from God in the Scriptures but the Bible tells us that right now we see as like in a mirror darkly but one day we will see fully. For we will see him face to face.

I am left with more questions about questions. I hope I have inspired you to ask questions and search out answers like the Beroeans. I wonder though, when we see him face to face, will he just tell us everything we ever wanted to know like some kind of cosmic download? Or will he call us, in a similar manner of “further up and further in?” Oh yes I think we will see clearly but what will that next adventure be? Will each question we had be just a shadow of the ones we will ask then and that each new question will be the next adventure and challenge to face. Will each answer be more inspiring and beautiful and more real that the one before?