Advent

Advent is a time of longing anticipation. Let us consider three individuals from the Bible during this Advent season.

In Matthew 1:19 the Bible tells us that Joseph was righteous. An angel visited him in a dream, and Joseph did as the angel commanded him. He did not ask questions but acted.

Zechariah was a priest who walked blamelessly before the Lord. An angel appeared to him, and he was confused and overcome with fear. But the angel said, “Do not be afraid. Zechariah, your prayer has been heard.” Zechariah replied, “How shall I know this?” (Luke Chapter 1).

Given his position and age, we might have expected his reaction to be different. He was righteous before God, but he asked a question out of unbelief. His prayer was going to be answered, but he was no longer expecting the answer to his prayer. It seemed too late to him, and he thought it was impossible.

Mary was a virgin. An angel came to her and said, “Hail, favoured one,” which meant, “the Lord is with you. You are blessed among women.” When she saw him, she was confused by his words. The angel told her what would happen, and Mary also asked a question, not out of unbelief, but because she did not understand how it would happen. She did not ask for a sign, but for an explanation (Luke chapter 1).

Everyone reacted in their own way to the message of Jesus' first coming into the world. Their lives changed dramatically afterwards. Zechariah did indeed have a son, a son with a special mission.

Joseph had to abandon his own plans and had to move to Egypt. Everything turned out differently from what he had expected.

Mary was unmarried and pregnant when she told her future husband, her parents, her family, and fellow villagers that she knew this was God's plan. Later on, when other children were being killed because the king was searching for her child, they had to flee.

She saw how her son was treated and how He acted, how He performed miracles, and how He drove people and merchants out of the temple with a whip. She saw how He ultimately died on a cross but rose again after three days, and she saw Him ascend to heaven.

How often would Joseph and Mary have said aloud, or to themselves, “Lord, is this really from You? How can this really be from You?”

How often would others have said that to them?

How do we deal with answers to our prayers and what are our expectations?

Zechariah, Joseph, and Mary saw an angel. I don't know if any of us have ever seen an angel, but I do know that we can hear God's voice. If we can be sure that it is His voice, we can also trust that He will keep His promises. Is that an easy path? No, just look at Joseph and Mary, or look at Jesus Himself. But in all this, they followed God's way.