What does it mean to live with questions?

Questions need not be soul-crushing, or raise our doubts and fears.

Sometimes questions can bring a sense of awe, prompting us to ponder, “I wonder what God is up to?”

In this year’s Advent series, join me as we look at four Advent questions from the gospel of Luke. We’ll look at the context of the question in their day, and how the questions from the ancients might relate to us in our day.

This week’s question:

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

(Luke 1:34, ESV)

We pick up the story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Luke chapter 1. Imagine, for a moment, living in Mary’s day. God has been silent for 400 years, and out of the blue, an angel shows up for a one-on-one conversation! Like Mary, I would greatly troubled, and wonder what this visit was all about, wouldn’t you?

Gabriel quickly assured her that his visit was one of grace, not judgment. This was not a prize that she had earned for being a good girl; this was Gabriel revealing God’s plan for the world, and she was to have an integral part, to be the mother of Messiah, the long-expected One who would save the world.

While Mary had no experience with marriage, childbirth, or being a parent, she likely was fully aware of the societal disgrace of being an unwed mother. What would her parents say? Would Joseph, her fiancé’, stick around, or would he abandon her? How would she survive and care for this baby and herself if she ended up on her own as a single mother?

In this season, we celebrate the birth of Immanuel, “God with us”. And who better to understand and experience “God with us” than Mary, from Gabriel’s visit announcing God’s plan, to her last mention in Scripture (Acts 1:14), where she was gathered with the disciples, her other sons, and other women, waiting for God would send His helper, the Holy Spirit, to be with them.

But in the moment, Mary only had one question – how would the impossible be possible? How could she end up pregnant, having never been with a man? Gabriel didn’t give a biology lesson – he said that God would be with her, and that God would surround her like a cloud, protecting her and providing for her. Because of God’s presence in (literally) her, and surrounding her, the child would be holy, and would be called the Son of God.

What was Mary’s response? She said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

How would we respond if God asked us to do something outrageous by our culture’s, or the world’s, standards? Would we bow our knee to God’s plan? Or would we have twelve hundred follow-up questions and concerns and, and, and…?

Martin Luther, in giving his words to Mary, has her say, “I am only the workshop in which God operates.”

It’s important to note that Gabriel has one other piece of news for Mary: Nothing is impossible with God – even her relative Elizabeth, in her old age, is expecting, and is six months pregnant.

God, in His wisdom, knew that Mary would need a friend and mentor, someone who would listen and give wise advice, and with whom she could share hew news without shame or judgment. And Mary quickly packs her bags and spends three months with Elizabeth, pondering what God was up to.

In all the chaos of life, may we stop and ask, “I wonder what God is up to?”

And may we be an Elizabeth, a friend, a listening ear, to those “Marys” in our paths whose lives have been turned upside down, or who are lonely and perplexed during this Advent season, and ponder the question with them, “I wonder what God is up to?”

And may our response to Immanuel be, in humble faith and submission, as Luther penned,
“I am only the workshop in which God operates.”.

Blessings,
~kevin