“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” – Luke 1:26-38 (ESV)

And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:13-14 (ESV)

As I’ve been reflecting on the Christmas story recently, a theme of some blogposts I wrote during the year came to mind, a theme of God working in unexpected and seemingly impossible ways (see here and here).

Who would expect that the Majestic, Glorious, All-Powerful King of Kings would send His Son into the World in such an unassuming way, through the womb of a virgin at that? And yet, that is exactly what He chose to do, as unlikely and incomprehensible as it may seem to us. Incidentally, the one criteria that Mary assumed would make it impossible (Luke 1:34) was the very criteria that qualified her to be the mother of the Messiah (Isaiah 7:14).

This year in particular, and especially in the last few months, I have certainly needed this reminder, repeatedly, that God specialises in the impossible, and that He works in ways that are higher than my understanding (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Christmas story, in addition to reminding me of the amazing, precious, priceless, long-awaited gift that Jesus is to us, has served as another reminder of God’s mysterious, impossibility-defying ways.

And that’s really what I want to reflect on today. I also hope that, like Mary, even if we are puzzled, questioning, ‘wondering how’, we can still behold and respond with wonder at God’s ways, with an acknowledgement of the truth of who we are to God, and with total trust, confidence and submission to God’s Word, will and ways. May we contine to do this even when the messenger leaves, and we wonder if those promises will ever happen, especially long-awaited promises like this one.

For the angel may have left, but in that moment, someone far greater was with her and IN her! As David mused in 2 Chronicles 6:18 (ESV), “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, Heaven and the highest Heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!”

Yes, that God that could not be contained in the vast expanse of Heaven, in an incredible, miraculous humbling way, compacted Himself into the tiny womb of a woman to come and be with us. The Creator of all came to dwell in and with His very own creation. And today, we celebrate the fulfilment of that unorthodox, puzzling, biology-defying, seemingly impossible plan of God, even as we remember that that same God also dwells in us (1 Corinthians 3:16). Not just for nine months, but forever and always! (Matthew 28:20).

And so, I pray that this Christmas season, we will be reminded of the unchanging, loving, ever-present, all-powerful, faithful character of the God we serve. I pray that we will respond with trust, even when we don’t understand the mystery of His ways.

As we celebrate the birth of Our Emmanuel, the Prince of Peace and the One whose presence brought Joy to the world, I wish you and yours a peaceful, joyful, Christ-centred Christmas!

Image Sources Here and Here.