Appropriate Skepticism and the Christmas Story

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified… Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel… When [the shepherds] had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.” Luke 2:8, 9, 13, 17

Have you ever noticed that although the shepherds witnessed a remarkable miracle and shared it with so many other people, that there’s no evidence that a single person who heard their story went to the manger themselves to seek out the baby Jesus? Isn’t that a bit strange?

It’s odd, except for the fact that we all know what it’s like to doubt the miraculous. Often our doubt is quite legitimate because those cooking up their stories of the miraculous are charlatans. Or they are business people trying to make a buck off of selling us snake oil. Or they are just reporting on feelings not on an actual occurrence.

So can’t you just imagine the townspeople hearing this news from the shepherds and perhaps rolling their eyes or dismissing them out of hand?

And there’s another reason we sometimes react with skepticism: we’ve been hurt. We’ve had negative experiences in our families or in religious groups that have pressured us into believing or used their “The Lord told me such and such” against us.

So perhaps having a bit of healthy doubt at the miraculous isn’t so bad. After all, even Jesus encouraged his followers to doubt the religious leaders of his time.

As you think about God’s visitation to our world, what sorts of doubts and hesitations do you have coming into this Christmas season? How might you appropriately express those misgivings and honor them, even as you lean in towards Christ in this season?