Challenges at Christmastime

& “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37 ESV The Christmas holiday season can present some frustrating challenges. The shopping list is too long, while the money is too short. The checkout lines are too long, while people’s patience runs short. You’re constantly dodging vehicles that cut in front of you as you are turning into the parking spot you claimed. You forgot that special ingredient for the pie everyone has been expecting for dessert, but the grocery store just closed. The list could go on and on. How do you respond to what seems challenging, or difficult for us to understand as humans? How do you respond to something God announces or promises to you that appears to be either improbable or impossible? The first chapter of the Gospel of Luke offers a comparison and contrast of two main characters, Zechariah and Mary, in relation to the birth of John the Baptist and his relative, Jesus the Christ. This narrative is often preached during Advent or Christmastime. Both characters are informed by the angel Gabriel that something incredible is about to happen in their lives. For Zechariah, his wife Elizabeth who has been unable to bear a...