On first hearing, the Isaiah reading can be confusing. People in the pews will probably not know who Ahaz is and, initially, they may side with him because he sounds like a person of faith: he refuses Isaiah s suggestion that he ask God for a sign. A sign about what? Aren t we not supposed to ask God for signs to back up our faith? What s going on here? A little background and context may help.
It s the eighth century BCE and previously, the prophet tried again and again to confront Judah s kings and people with their infidelities to God. Kings were supposed to be God s instruments, guiding the people in God s ways and the observance of the covenant God made with them. Under threat from advancing Assyrian forces, King Ahaz refused to join with neighboring countries in an alliance against Assyria. Instead he tried to align with Assyria.
Isaiah had warned Ahaz about relying on military might and foreign nations for security. He was a prophet to the royal court and he called the King and nation to trust in God for their security. That s hard to do isn t it, when the forces lined against us are tangible, within eyesight and hearing? — like the encroaching Assyrian army.
That is why Isaiah is offering the fearful Ahaz a sign to bolster his faith in God s protection. At first Ahaz s refusal to seek such a sign seems like the response of a faithful person. But he s a hypocrite and it s not faith in God that moves him not to ask for a sign, but his own plans for an alliance with the advancing Assyrians. Still, Isaiah says God will give a sign: a young woman of marriageable age will conceive and bear a child and the child s name will be God is with us.
Sometimes, when we are in difficult situations, we get assuring signs of God with us: family, friends, even strangers show up to help us. But even with such support we may need further assurance of the promises God has made to us. That s who is given to us, Emmanuel, who bears the seal of God, proof positive that God is with us, even when nothing else will quite convince us.
Emmanuel isn t just a title we Christians bestow on Jesus. It expresses a basic act of trust that God is present and will always be with us. God is not a distant observer, or a cheerleader who roots for us from afar. Instead God has, in modern lingo, walked the walk and talked the talk with us. Jesus is the assurance, not only in the past but now, that God travels with us through our lives, our entire lives, even when our faith is chilled and we slacken in our attentiveness to God s ways. The prophet Isaiah is speaking now to us, drawing us away from false securities and foolish self-reliance, back to the One who is God is with us.
For us Christians, Jesus Christ is our Emmanuel. Once again he is our Christmas gift who brings light into our darkness and hope to our struggles. Love has pierced the chill of our world and warmed us with an embrace that will not let go of us — God is with us.
The gospel shows us that once again God is keeping God s word: a child is given to us to assure us that God is doing what the angel told Joseph: fulfilling what had been spoken through the prophets. Matthew wrote for a predominantly Jewish Christian audience. He is referring to their ancestral faith; that God keeps and fulfills the covenant made with their forebearers. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet . There it is, the faith of the Jewish people: the fulfillment of the ancient promise made to Israel.
We hear the name Emmanuel and we might presume it is just one more ancient title for God, now applied to Jesus. But it’s more than a title, it signifies a promise fulfilled. It can serve us as a brief, to-the-point prayer in time of need. When we feel overwhelmed and distressed we invoke the name that reminds us of God s presence with us in whatever we are going through. Emmanuel then, isn’t simply a title, but a prayer we pray with confidence: God Be with us!
We should not romanticize the situation Mary and Joseph find themselves in. Who would believe Mary s story? Certainly Joseph knew he wasn’t the father of the child Mary was carrying. He was a compassionate man and though he wouldn’t know what had happened to Mary, he decided to step out of the picture quietly. Then the angel appeared to him in a dream. By Joseph s acceptance of the angel s message he became the adoptive father of the child. He chose to accept the child and his mother and form a family.
Families will be celebrating Christmas together. Children will be treasured and wanted and they will bring joy to their families. But Christmas will add pain to children who are not wanted, treated as burdens, who are seen as adding to their family s poverty. There will also be single-parent families who are unable to provide the necessities for their children, much less buy them Christmas gifts. Because of a death, there will be grieving families. Divorce will have separated children from parents and even one another. All families under stress at Christmas.
God asked a difficult thing of Joseph and he accepted what was being asked of him in trust. While God doesn t put burdens on families, today s gospel reassures us all that, even in situations of conflict and confusion, God is faithful. Despite all our uncertainties and difficulties God is born again into our lives, builds us up and stays with us. For our God is named Emmanuel — truly God is with us.