18 Dec SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2022
Everything is under control.
Ahaz was king of Judah 700 years before Christ was born. As a man, he wearied God by not asking for a sign though encouraged by the Lord himself to do so. Nonetheless, he wasn’t abandoned; God delivered a message to him not unlike the angel delivered to Joseph through a dream.
The message to both was similar. “Do not fear your current circumstance. Everything is under control. The future looks different than you think. Take my word. Trust me. It’ll all work out.” Though the Lord God spoke directly to Ahaz, he would not take him at his word. Whereas when God sends an angel to speak with Joseph, his way of thinking changes completely.
It’ll all work out.
Ahaz wasn’t the first person to disregard what God had to say or offer and he wasn’t the last, just like Joseph wasn’t the first person to listen. Regardless of whether people lack the will or ability to communicate directly with God, their lack of will or ability doesn’t hinder or change God’s ultimate plan or outcome.
God will not be discouraged. He’ll keep initiating contact and offering insight to even the most stubborn of human beings. God will lay out signs and still give clues, even well in advance. In the case of Ahaz, God tells him how the surrounding nations fare hundreds of years into the future.
Put that in perspective. God sees time from the standpoint of not only the present, but the past and future, all of eternity. One person’s lifespan, or their time of power is relatively short. For example, King Ahaz only ruled the throne of Judah for 16 years, a short career as kings go, although he may have remained coregent after appointing his son Hezekiah as heir.
Throughout all of history, God tries to enlist people in his long range plans. He’s willing to offer advice not only to key individuals like kings and the chosen father of Jesus, but to everyday people like you and me. People who also have long range plans and future goals which guide important decisions daily.
Some things to remember are:
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- God is never shortsighted.
- By listening to and consulting God, vision improves.
- Worries are reigned in.
- Perfectly natural concerns prove unfounded.
The next thought in today’s readings is the notion of knowing how to refuse evil and choose good. Normal human beings take substantial time learning to distinguish between good and evil. By the time Immanuel was eating solid food in the form of milk curds and honey, he would already understand the two realms.
God understands all that humans have yet to figure out. He understands the things about which we are most confused and most concerned. God knows what causes kings and other people to strategize, hoard resources, muster forces, and form alliances. God knows what efforts will prove unnecessary and useless in the long run.
Take King Ahaz. He first ascended the throne at age twenty. Unfortunately, he’s best known for sacrificing children by fire to the god Molech in hopes of guaranteeing a successful reign as king. God, on the other hand, sacrificed himself by becoming a child…who would eventually suffer… but ultimately reign eternal as king of the universe.
God often accomplishes the best goals by doing the opposite of what humans predict, aim for or expect.
Finally, Matthew’s birth story of the Messiah begins in the traditional way. A genealogy, of sorts, describes exactly who came together to create the baby Jesus. What Matthew makes immediately clear is that tradition took a turn.
The child is not from Joseph, but the Holy Spirit. The backstory is thrust forward. Jesus’ conception was different from the start. Like Mary, Joseph was chosen to parent God’s Anointed based on character, which Matthew notes as righteous. Joseph knew social curses would follow Mary due to her family’s broken contract. He had no wish to humiliate. Instead he intended to graciously protect their reputation as much as society would allow Mary to be dismissed quietly.
Notice the famous introductory phrase, “But just when.” In every famous tale, that phrase usually precedes the height of disaster, the point at which there is no return or hope of rescue. Just as Joseph had resolved in his mind to do thus and such (as Charles Stanley would say) as the perfect solution, “an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.”
Why in a dream? Because as Carl Jung might say, “When the conscious mind is out of commission it doesn’t start arguing before the angel of the Lord is done speaking.” The subconscious is forced to hear itself addressed by a name the ego recognizes. “Joseph, son of David,” knows he is not Joe the son of Frank, Charlie or any other Joe in the village. He must attend to and not dismiss the message.
The first thing the angel says is, “Do not be afraid to move forward with your original plan. Take Mary as your wife. It’s okay. The child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. It’s a son. Name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Similar to what Ahaz was told, “Do not fear your current circumstance. Everything is under control. The future looks different than you think. Take my word. Trust me. It’ll all work out.”
Jesus will save his people. By definition, one’s people extends beyond a family clan or tribe. A tribe typically lives in one geographical region while a clan usually claims one common ancestor. The people Jesus considers his people includes everyone; whoever sins are his. He’s come to save all of them. In doing so, he will fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord God through the prophet Isaiah 700 hundred years beforehand.
Baby Jesus isn’t Plan B, he’s Plan A. Since the beginning of time, the plan was for a virgin to conceive and bear a son named by his chosen parents, Emmanuel. All along God knew the ones raising him would be Joseph and Mary and that God would be in the flesh with us, all of us. It was a good dream coming true.
For Joseph, the dream was so convincing when he awoke, he did as commanded by the angel of the Lord. He took Mary as his wife, and remained celibate until after she bore a son, named Jesus the Messiah. Mary and Joseph were chosen to raise and protect God’s anointed savior of all people claimed by him – which amounts to all persons in need of rescuing from sin.
That’s it. That’s the Good News. What more could we want or ask for than to be rescued from sin, the thing that makes us fear what others will think, what others will do? Rescued from doubts as to whether we’re capable and worry about what terrible thing may happen because we’ve sinned or worse still, through no fault of our own nor anyone else?
The Lord spoke saying, “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be as deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” Don’t be like Ahaz and refuse to ask in some feigned attempt to not put the Lord to the test.
There have been times in my life when I’ve prayed boldly and been sorely disappointed. And after bad things happened, it seemed too late to ask and futile to pray.
If God didn’t listen when we begged for healing, understanding, tolerance or mercy, why bother asking again, especially if whatever’s in the cards happens anyway? Besides that, if God holds all the cards and plays each hand in turn until he wins, it seems like just watching the game unfold is all we can do. It seems as though we’re merely spectators, not players.
That’s exactly what Joseph thought as he went to bed that night, roughly 2019 years ago. “I guess God’s the real player and holds all the cards. He’s chosen Mary to be the mother of his child and I’ve really just been her companion, a spectator of God’s heavenly plan.”
Just when he was about to feel sidelined, an angel of the Lord reassured Joseph that he was still very much needed and part of the team. He’d been promoted to the sidelines as head coach to God’s holy family, a family of people whose captain and star player was God’s only begotten son. “Listen. Take my word. Trust the fact that you have the privilege of knowing Jesus’ true identity and story of origin.
We, like King Ahaz, Mary and Joseph, are privileged to know that God has spoken directly to us and is present with us. We, like them, have been saved from sin so we know how to refuse evil and choose good. All that’s required of us is to follow Joseph’s example: Believe and act as if all we’ve been told is true.
Believing and acting as if all we’ve been told by God is true is part and parcel of God’s plan to be with us always and always rescue us from sin… every time and in every way…through temptation, in trial, in fear, in embarrassment, broken promises, failed negotiations, our inability to forgive or see God in people. When God made things clear in a dream to Joseph whose story became part of God’s Word. That Word was: Emmanuel is God and God is present with us no matter where we are. Let us pray.
Lord, help us believe in you this Christmas like never before, to hear every word you say, to trust your plan, to feel encouraged by what you ask us to do. Help us be brave enough to share your vision and go forward knowing you choose and equip whomever you call. May our conscious wills and subconscious egos recognize your message and may our spirits rejoice in your holy name by which we pray, our Lord Jesus Christ, Emmanuel. Amen.