As the oldest I would take it upon myself to chide my younger siblings. “Wipe your feet when you come in the door.” They would hear that as meaning “because you’re an ignorant slob if you don’t.” When my sister, just younger than I, would say the same thing my siblings would hear “because you don’t want to make extra work for mommy.” You can say the same thing but it can sound very different. In the gospel of Luke Zechariah is doubtful and skeptical at the news of his wife’s pregnancy. “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” He is saying “as if — that ain’t gonna happen.” When Mary asks a similar question when the angel announces her pregnancy — “How can this be since I am a virgin?” — she is curious about how the plan of God was going to unfold. Asking questions the right way gets us the answers we need. We all have our questions for God when we are going through some rough or difficult time. “Why do bad things happen to good people?” We should take the example of Mary and not ask our questions with doubt and cynicism. Rather, our questions should be an inquiry to help us understand the will of God in the world and in our lives.
