Matthew 1.18-21
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a
righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss
her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord
appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to
take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people
from their sins.”
Some things just seem to come easier to children. Like, hop-scotch. And hula hoops. And the universal insane humor of a Knock-Knock
joke. Or the aversion to ginger
ale. Ginger ale is only offered by Great
Aunt Gertrude as you sit on her plastic-covered couch, and stare down her 13
year old cat, Sonny, both of you wondering how soon you will leave. Old cats can really stare long and ginger ale
is not a soda! These truths, too, come
easily to a child.
When does doubt creep into our lives? When does the grey
shade of doubt change our view? Do any of us remember our very first doubting? We remember our first day of school, first over-night
camping trip, and beloved first teachers.
But when does doubt become part of our being? At what point did Joseph decide that all he
previously knew about Mary was wrong, and he could not continue the
relationship. She was not the person he
thought her to be. The engagement
broken. It took God’s angel speaking in
a dream to reassure Joseph of Mary’s faithfulness and God’s trust in her.
In his Seasons of
Reflections, Adam Hamilton asks the question, “How do you overcome
doubt?” Some things just seem to come
easier to children. Overcoming doubt is
right there with somersaults and blowing bubbles. It’s trust and belief. Children give themselves completely to
trusting those around them, openly and whole-heartedly. Trusting that their living breath will
produce a glorious bubble and belief in the solid love of gentle hands catching
them as they tumble in the grass, doubt has no place.
In this marvelous Advent season let us embrace our
child-heart. As children of God, may we
find the blessing of trust and belief as we skip into each of God’s new
days.
Gretchen Combs, Director of Children's Ministries
