A Christmas Message

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34

Luke tells us that when the angel appeared to Mary with the announcement of how she found favor with God, she did what any grounded, sensible person might do, she asked a very human question. “How will this be…?” One might interpret that questions as doubt, but that’s not doubt. That’s a young woman trying to understand how her ordinary life had suddenly collided with the extraordinary purposes of God.

What has always struck me about that moment is how familiar Mary feels. Not distant, not otherworldly… just real. A young woman with a heart open to God and a mind full of real-life concerns. She isn’t pretending. She isn’t being emotional. She isn’t performing. She simply brings her question into the presence of God.

And God doesn’t rebuke her. He answers her.

And her question assumes belief… another way to look at her question is “It will happen. I just don’t understand how yet.” That posture is truly encouraging. It reminds us that genuine faith is not the absence of questions; it is the courage to ask while still leaning toward God.

At the heart of the angel’s answer is this assurance: “The Holy Spirit will come on you.” In other words: “Mary, you are part of this, but God Himself will accomplish it.” The incarnation begins with God, is sustained by God, and is fulfilled by God. Mary does carry the promise, but she does not create it. She cooperates with what the Spirit initiates.

There is something really important here for us:
The story of Christ’s birth doesn’t romanticize faith or reality. Instead, it invites us into a faith that is honest. A faith that includes wonder and confusion. A faith that leaves room for our humanity. A faith that says, “Lord, I don’t have this all figured out—but I am yours.”

Mary shows us what partnership with God looks like: not perfection, not confidence in our abilities, but a surrendered heart and a willing yes. And God’s method hasn’t changed. His kingdom still comes through ordinary people who trust Him with trembling hands.

In Mary’s case, saying yes meant bearing the Messiah. For us, saying yes will look different—yet it is no less sacred. It may look like listening well to someone who is alone. It may look like caring for a coworker who is carrying more than they can say. It may look like generosity that stretches us or hospitality that interrupts our routine. A thousand small, holy obediences that become signs of the kingdom.

There is another gift tucked into this story. Before the angel leaves, he tells Mary about Elizabeth. 

“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:36-37

He gives her community. God does not allow her to carry this promise alone. Two women, two impossible promises, two growing testimonies of God’s faithfulness, walking together, waiting together, believing together. So powerful! So beautiful!

In this Advent season, you may find yourself asking a version of Mary’s question: 

“Lord, how will this be?”
How will You work in my family?
How will You heal what is broken?
How will You lead me into the future?
 

Those are holy questions. They belong in God’s presence.And the answer is still the same: The Holy Spirit will come upon you. God Himself will do what only God can do.

Our part is to stand before Him, as Mary did, and say,
“I am the Lord’s servant…may Your word to me be fulfilled.” Luke 1:38

May we carry Christ into this world—together—with the same trust, the same humility, and the same courageous faith as Mary.
And may we discover that our honest questions are not barriers to faith, but the very places where God meets us.

Please pray with me,
Lord, You know the questions we carry. Thank You for meeting us, as You met Mary, with patience, mercy, and the promise of Your Spirit.
Give us the courage to bring our uncertainties to You, the humility to trust what we cannot yet see, and the faith to say yes to Your work in us.
Make us people who welcome Your presence and bear Your hope into the world.\
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Grateful to our God,