Devotion 12920

 "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these this take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." Luke 1:19

And he (Gabriel) The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born to you will be called holy, the Son of the God."  Luke 1:35

Gabriel, an angel, sent from God's presence to deliver messages.  Both passages above are responses to people like us, one Zechariah who will be John the Baptist's father (at an advanced age) and the other from Mary (a virgin who is engaged). Both are startled by the sudden presence of an angel, and both are skeptical about the message he is delivering on behalf of God. "How can this be, my wife is old?" or "How can this be, I'm a virgin?"

The only thing missing from this story is a reach, a touch, a grabbing of what he is wearing to see if he is real or if Zechariah or Mary are hallucinating. No question for credentials or something official for them to see.  Other than that, the story is real for us.  "You're saying what now? Me? At my age or condition? Really? Please...."

I find the flurry of activity interesting.  Heaven is making its move.  Angels dispatched to deliver messages.  Angels speaking with calm but authority.  People in disbelief but now in the middle of God's plan.  Can you imagine being at an advanced age and telling your family you need furniture and clothing for a baby? Can you imagine having to tell people how it is possible to be pregnant but not from your fiance (or really, any other man at this moment) and that all plans for the future are on hold.

This is but the beginning.  For generations, God's chosen people have been waiting for this moment.  The unbelief of the moment will continue throughout his life, to the point that the unbelief will result in his suffering, death and resurrection to forgive us from our own sin.  God's plan is unfolding, and at Advent, we acknowledge it will unfold again, as Christ returns to us.  

We pray that God hear our petition that we "do believe, help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24) We pray that God continue to strengthen us when we, like Zechariah and Mary, are skeptical.  Lord, help our unbelief!