Day 10: Virgin

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34

I must confess that my rational mind struggles with the virgin birth story. Honestly, I am grateful that the gospels of Mark and John seem to know nothing of a virgin birth. It does not seem to be important to their audiences. This gives me hope that when my mind doubts Luke and Matthew, I can still believe with Mark and John.

Yet, even in those thoughts of doubt, I am filled with wonder at what the virgin birth means and with gratitude for Luke and Matthew’s accounts because they teach us that Jesus was an alternative to the violent and oppressive Roman Emperors.

Ultimately, Luke is telling us that something greater than the Roman emperors was at work in Jesus. When Jesus was born, Caesar Augustus was already proclaimed to be fathered by the god Apollo and was said to have been sent to bring “peace,” to “save” the people and to bring “good news.” Luke tells us that Jesus also came to save people, to bring good news and to bring peace. But what we find in Luke is that the path Jesus offers of salvation and peace was quite different than the path of Caesar.

Caesar’s way of peace and salvation came through war, his symbol the Eagle. Jesus’s way of peace and salvation came through nonviolence, his symbol the Dove. Caesar’s path was paved with the blood of his enemies, Jesus’s path was paved with his own blood.

So, each year I celebrate and sing of the virgin birth with a mixture of doubt and belief yet confident of what it means: good news for all people has come and the way of peace is not found in the violence and oppression of empires, but in the humble and gentle way of Jesus.

—Ryan Howell