the questions of Christmas…
For unto us a child is born… (Isaiah 9.6)
Christmas is a challenge for every parent…unless your child is God— then it must be overwhelming! While shepherds, wise men, Simeon, and Anna all beheld the child as Messiah, Savior, Lord, and King, none of them— or for that matter any of us— had to grapple with the reality Mary and Joseph faced. Many may welcome a newborn baby, but it remains the blessed burden of parents to bear the responsibility for him.
No parent before or since has confronted the mystery of the incarnation with the immediacy, the mystery, the awe-filled fear, and the questions… all those questions… They must have haunted Joseph and Mary ever since those moments when the Lord first invaded their lives with the News… Questions that dogged them over the months of pregnancy… Questions which they discussed together… Questions left unspoken within the most intimate recesses of the heart… Questions which competed for their attention amidst the demands of childbirth.
Joseph, what did you ask in those frail, still, helpless moments? You who were denied the lover’s role in conception, the man’s right to name, and the father’s honor to lead your son into his calling… Joseph, what were your questions?
I can only imagine…
My Lord and my God, why me?
How do I deliver the One sent to deliver me?
Is He bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh?
Is He my son or Your Son?
How can one so sinful, father one so sinless?
How do I nurture the God whom I serve?
How do I lead when my son is my Father?
Does He even need me to be His father?
How can I meet His needs when I need Him so much more?
How do I teach the Word to one who is the Word?
How do I judge my Judge?
Can I ever be “right” before Him?
My Lord, how do I overcome the paralysis I feel within?
Oh my God, why this way?…
The challenge and the stumbling block of Christmas is not God’s divinity— it is the truth that He freely chose to empty Himself in order to be born… (Philippians 2.6)
