July 19, 2026
When we tell stories, we sometimes change parts of it. We may want to make it appropriate for all ages. We may edit out certain details. We change it to make a better story. My husband is from Texas. I think that’s why he sometimes makes a story bigger and better! I’ll be like, no, we weren’t going 90mph!
But at some point, it’s not good to change the story. Especially the Christmas story. It’s amazing as it is! It doesn’t need help. It doesn’t need to be cleaned up and dressed up. The rough edges are important! They make the story, the rough edges help us to understand what God was doing, and how the people in the story experienced it.
So today we’re going to look at the real Christmas story! In it, God gives people the opportunity to take part in his plan to save the world. But they have doubts! They don’t see how this will work!
In Luke chapter 1, Zachariah is a priest, his wife is Elizabeth and she is a relative of Mary’s. On day Zachariah has the privilege to serve burning incense inside the temple. The temple wasn’t like a church. Anybody can enter a church. But only priests could enter the temple, and only when it was their turn. Zachariah enters the temple, and the angel of the Lord appears to him. Zachariah is frightened! The angel tells him happy news! He and Elizabeth will have a baby!
Listen to Luke 1:18, “Zachariah said to the angel, ‘Do you expect me to believe this? I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.’” He has some serious doubts! The angel doesn’t like his attitude and tells him, because you don’t believe me, you won’t be able to speak until this child is born. Soon, Elizabeth is pregnant with their son, John the Baptist.
Then in Luke 1:26-38, God sends the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to Mary, who is engaged to Joseph. The angel tells Mary you will conceive and give birth to a son, Jesus. He will be called the Son of the Most High, and his kingdom will never end. Mary asks, “How will this be, because I’m a virgin?” She has this moment where she thinks, wait a minute, this isn’t going to work!
The angel says, “No word from God will ever fail!” He’s saying, God doesn’t make mistakes. Gabriel explains that through the Holy Spirit and the Most High God, her child will be called the Son of God. Mary says, ok, let it be with me as you say. Soon, Mary is pregnant with Jesus!
The next person who doubts, and in a big way, is Joseph. He thought God wanted him to get married to Mary, and they were meant to be a family! But Joseph hasn’t slept with Mary yet, and he finds out that she is pregnant! He doesn’t want to make a scene, but he feels certain that she has been unfaithful. He decides to quietly divorce her.
Matthew 1:20-21 says, “While Joseph was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus— ‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.” Joseph says, ok, he cancels his doubts and marries Mary!
Zachariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph all show us doubt is part of being human. They all believe in God. But in the Christmas story, angels are calling them to do more than just believe in God. They’re called to believe God! To trust God knows what He is doing and take a step of faith! There’s a huge difference between believing in God, which most of us do, and believing God. Believing in God is more passive. It’s saying, “Sure, God is out there. I believe God exists.” Believing God means trusting God, surrendering in faith. It’s trusting that if God points out a challenge he wants you to accept, he’ll help you tackle it!
When we talk about Jesus and our salvation, we might say that God sent Jesus to suffer and die for our sins so that we might be saved. That’s the short version. The Christmas story is the longer version: that God sent Jesus to save us, but it also includes how important Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph were! It shows the importance of the followers of God, who did more than just believe in God, they believed God! They said yes and stepped out, not knowing how things would turn out.
When God does things in our world, he relies on His followers to trust and follow, to help him in what he does. Christmas depended on Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph. If any one of them had said, “no way Jose”, God might have recruited different people. But God always involves somebody in his work. Without believers ready to follow His call, there would have been no Christmas!
God loves you if you follow Him, and he loves you just the same if you don’t follow Him! It’s not that you have to do anything in order for God to love you. God loves you no matter what you do! He’s wild about you! He loves and accepts you exactly as you are! God’s love for you is settled on the cross. God loves you!
Once you know, deep down that God loves you, and you have faith in Him, there’s a next step. That is to step out and trust God, to pay attention to the nudges he gives you. It’s not about following the rules. We might think Christianity is all about following the rules. No, it’s about surrender to God. It’s, “If you say so, God.” The apostle Paul told the church in Galatia: don’t be so fixed on following the laws or rules. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love.
One thing I felt a nudge to do lately, it feels a little silly, is to talk to strangers. If the whole world is God’s children, we’re all family! I’’s not easy for me, but God can do what I can’t! So, I talk to strangers. Kevin and I parked in a parking garage in Philadelphia, and we were in the elevator with another couple. I told them we are going to the Museum of the American Revolution. They said, we are too! I said we’ve never been there. They were never there either! And when we got out of the elevator, none of us knew how to get to the museum. We knew it wasn’t far, but which way? I used my phone GPS, but I still didn’t know which way to walk! Kevin said he thought it was to the right. He and I walked to the end of the street to see if that was right, and I then saw the museum! I motioned to the couple, and they walked our way and found the museum too! Nobody was left behind! I’m glad I talked to them and the world seem friendlier!
My homework for you this week is to ask God to lead you or nudge you. Is there someone God wants you to call? Is there a gift God wants you to give?
I’m grateful for Christmas, for God’s free gift of salvation, aren’t you? I’m grateful for Zechariah, Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, who did more than believe in God. They believed God, they surrendered their will to do what God asked! In order to work miracles in the world, in order to make the world as He intends, God calls ordinary people like you and me, to follow Him. Following God is not about following the rules. It’s about allowing God to move in the world, showing love through you! Amen.
Maureen Duffy-Guy's blog 