Fourth Sunday of Advent 2016

The sign of the birth. What does this mean? We know in our own lives what it means to expect a child. We worry about the health of mother and child. Maybe we plan and collect furniture, clothes, and books of names. There is a joyful expectation and we wonder what will happen. The birth of a child is still a sign for us. It is a sign of hope. It is a reminder of what's most important. We remember the miracle of life.

What's going on in Isaiah? Ahaz is king of Judah. There is a great empire, Assyria to the north, and they are conquering all their neighbors. Israel (the northern kingdom centered in Samaria) has made an alliance with Syria (centered around Damascus.) These two kingdoms want Judah to join them against Assyria. Ahaz is afraid of Assyria and would rather pay tribute. Isaiah has been encouraging him that it is the right way, and he offers a sign to encourage him.

Ahaz seems to offer a humble reply, but it is a false or empty humility. He won't ask because he doesn't believe. Isaiah offers a sign anyway. A young woman will bear a son. (Some commentators believe that this is Ahaz's wife, who is about to birth Hezekiah.) The sign is not a virgin birth. The sign is the child itself. The child will be called Immanuel, meaning, "God is with us." The sign is that as soon as the child knows right from wrong, he will be eating curds and honey (simple, local food - whatever is available after a long siege.) and by the time the child grows this old, the two kings besieging Jerusalem will be gone and conquered.

I suppose that this proof is offered to encourage Ahaz in that moment. It is also given to remind Ahaz in the future. When deliverance comes, he might be tempted to congratulate himself on his wisdom and statecraft. He might even lend his faith to the power of Assyria. Instead, this sign reminds Ahaz that it has been God all along who protects and guides him. This might even help Ahaz to deepen his faith and perhaps teach his own son how to be a faithful king after him.

I explore this old historical reference so that we can see the context of the dream of Joseph. He too is offered a sign. He is encouraged to take Mary as his wife and to accept the child born of the Holy Spirit.

We have our own stories about Joseph. He is often depicted as an old man. This explains why he is only referenced in the birth stories and he is absent from later stories. This also gives us a reason for Jesus to have brothers and sisters. They can all be his stepfamily, and Mary never has to have normal relations with Joseph, and we can keep her in an ideal celibate state. Thankfully, in the Episcopal Church, we don't have to hang onto these fussy ideas about Mary. I think she is a more powerful figure if she isn't set aside on some special plane of existence, but allowed to live a remarkable life among us.

Perhaps Joseph has his own children, or not. Perhaps he is young, or old. The story says that he is righteous, meaning that he seeks to do the right thing. Since he has found that Mary is pregnant and he is not the father, it is within his legal right to have her stoned. He is trying to do the right thing beyond the law, so he is planning to break off the engagement quietly, and Mary would return to her own family. Instead, he has a dream. He is a carpenter, or a builder. He doesn't seek proof or arguments. He is a dreamer (like another Joseph long ago.) He is open to God. He is open to whatever new and unexpected thing that God will do.

The child is named Jesus (or Joshua), meaning, "God saves." This seems to be a fulfillment of Isaiah - a virgin will conceive and bear a son. What's the miracle? What is the sign? It's not Mary, although the birth is miraculous and Mary is blessed. The miracle is the child. The child is a sign of how God is with us. Ahaz didn't want a sign. He didn't believe that God was with him. (He was trusting in his military alliance.) Joseph wasn't looking for a sign, yet he was seeking to do the right thing. He was open to the will of God - he was not demanding what he thought was God's will.

Jesus is not born yet - in our liturgical year. We still have time to prepare for the coming of Jesus. I'm sure we all have lists of things to do to get ready. We are expecting celebrations and gatherings. We are still getting ready. Maybe some of us are still seeking quiet and reflection to make our hearts ready. Some of us have the happy and also anxious preparations to welcome a refugee family of Syrian Kurds on January 3rd. Whatever our worry, we may never be ready. It's a good reminder that it isn't about us. Joseph reminds us that this is a story about God's work. God will be with us. God will save us.

I'm not arguing that we be passive. All the good and righteous things that we seek to do we are still responsible to do. The story is not about our perfection, but about finding God's presence in the life we have. Joseph will be a stepparent. Each blended family we know is a blessing built upon something broken. He is taking on a responsibility (which is noble) because there is no one else present to do so. Other fathers and mothers take on this work in the midst of divorce or death, and somehow with love create new life.

Something new is being created by God. Like Mary, and like Joseph, we are invited to accept whatever God desires to birth in us. Perhaps we can set aside some of our plans of perfection and accept what grows among us. Perhaps we can set aside the perfect present we are trying to buy, the perfect tree we are trying to decorate, the perfect gathering we are trying to arrange. Perhaps we can close our eyes and dream. What might God be trying to create in us?