Too Old to Believe? Never!
This time of year brings us a myriad of Christmas movies, from the classics to the downright silly. A lot of them centre on the theme of faith, whereby adults learn to believe in Santa Claus through the unwavering faith of their children. Sometimes, because of hurts and disappointments children even need to learn to believe in jolly old Saint Nick, by experiencing him for themselves; after all, seeing is believing, is it not? If this tradition was allowed in your home, at what age did you stop believing in Santa? Maybe we can’t really pinpoint a specific time when faith in the man from the North Pole stopped, but for sure, we do seem to just grow out of it (that's a good thing). Age usually brings with it a lot of doubt and unbelief in the supernatural. Many of us have learned to reason away some of the unexplainable. And why not? Like the world has done with creation, the quest for knowledge and leaning on our own understanding and theories have replaced belief in a divine being as the originator of the cosmos. Children usually have more faith than adults; even Jesus said that we need to become like children to enter the kingdom of God because the only way is through faith (Matt. 18:3, 19:4).
The Gospel story opens up with two scenes juxtaposed beside each other – the announcement of the birth of John the Baptist to Zachariah and Elizabeth, and the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Mary and Joseph (Luke 1:5-38). In both cases the angel Gabriel appears, first to Zach (and Liz) who are, according to scholars, roughly 50-60 years old. Secondly, Gabriel appears to Mary, who scholars say is around 16 years old. Both naturally react the same way, “greatly troubled” with fear. The angel makes the pronouncement to each that they will have a child, and their respective sons “will be great”, obviously for different reasons. Their responses to the announcements, although similar, have caused some consternation for some, at least many questions for others, myself included. Although we are essentially told the reason why Zach was punished for questioning Gabriel, because of unbelief (1:20), it just doesn’t sit right with many of us that he was treated as such, and Mary was not even at least reprimanded for her question. So, let’s look at the two questions as they were literally asked:
Zach: “Whereby shall I know this? for I am aged, and my wife is advanced in her days?” (1:18 Young’s Literal translation)
Mary: “How shall this be, seeing a husband I do not know?” (1:34 Young’s Literal Translation)
Starting with Zach, the answer seems quite comical: “Zach!!! You’re talking to an angel!!! It’s me Gabriel, the one who stands in the presence of God! He sent me to bring you this good news! (1:19). “How shall I know” reveals his unbelief – What he is really saying is, “I need more, give me another sign” as if angels showed up at his workplace all the time! His carnal mind focuses on his and Liz’s age, not on the power of God. He was a priest in the temple of the Lord. He was familiar with the Old Testament writings, especially the story of Abraham and Sarah who bore Isaac at 90 years old (See Romans 4:19-20). This aged man had lost faith in the God of the impossible. Even though he most likely prayed for a son (1:13), he somehow had gotten to a place of believing that God would not answer his prayer, as the years without an answer continued well passed the age of childbearing. He had given up on the ability of an all-powerful God to do the impossible and miraculous. His faith waned because of time; age had caused him to lose faith. The years go by, and we see no change. Instead of pressing into God and believing for the impossible, faith is replaced with despair, discouragement, and disappointment – the three D’s that kill faith. His question reveals a focus on self, and the excuses why God can’t answer. And those words of doubt are the last words to come out of his mouth for 9 months and 8 days. In a way, that is probably a good thing, since he won’t be able to confess that lie anymore that he and Liz are too old. Now he’ll have 9 months to build his faith back up as he spends time reading and meditating on the mighty God of old he has been called to serve.
Mary’s question, on the other hand, is totally different. She is sixteen years old, not in full time ministry. There has never been a virgin birth before…it’s unprecedented! She knows the biological basics that it takes a husband and wife to make a child, yet she is not even married, only engaged – the marriage has not been consummated. Her response is not “give me more proof” but “how is this even possible, I’ve never heard of such a thing”. The angel Gabriel explains that God will do it, for with Him nothing is impossible (1:35-37). She is never accused of having unbelief, in fact her response after being explained how the impossible might be possible is “Lo, the maid-servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to thy saying” (1:38 YLT). In other words, “I am just a servant of God, may the word you have spoken come to pass in my life”. That’s believing and receiving! She’s young and receptive, not tainted by years of disappointments and years of leaning on her own understanding, and possibly explaining away why things don’t happen the way we want. Her faith is still intact. She still believes that God is able to perform the impossible…because He is God!
The next scene is of great importance (1:39-45) – it’s where Elizabeth and Mary, old and young encounter each other and celebrate what God has done and is doing in each of their lives. Recognizing that God is not a respecter of persons, and that regardless of age, He is able to perform the impossible! Old and young come together, the older blesses the younger: “happy is she who did believe, for there shall be a completion to the things spoken to her from the Lord” (1:45 YLT). Friends, saints, church! May we be people who never lose faith. May we be those who encourage the younger with our faith and are encouraged by the faith of the younger, to continue to believe the God of the Bible, the God of the impossible, who does miracles before our very eyes. May we celebrate together, young and old, our great God and King and all that He does in our lives.
“And it shall be in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; and also upon My men-servants, and upon My maid-servants, in those days, I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy” YLT Acts 2:17-18
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