Readings for Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year A)
This sermon was preached by Fr. Daniel London at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on Sunday December 22, 2019.
There’s a story of a man stuck on his rooftop in the midst of a great flood. Afraid for his life, he began to pray to God for help. Soon someone in a rowboat came by and shouted to the man on the rooftop, saying, “Jump in, I can save you.” The stranded man on the roof shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.” So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by and the person in the motorboat shouted, “Jump in, I can save you.” To this the stranded man said, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.”
So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety.” To this the stranded man again replied, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith.” So the helicopter reluctantly flew away.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven, where he finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me drown. I don’t understand why!” To this God replied, “I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”
How often do we ignore God’s response to our prayers simply because they do not match our expectations? How often do we ignore God’s signs simply because we fail to recognize them? The season of Advent is about paying attention to the signs of God’s presence among us, the signs that point us to the Christ Child, the incarnation of divine love.
When it comes to asking for and receiving signs from God, the Bible offers a fairly nuanced understanding that simultaneously warns against putting too much stock in signs alone while also inviting us to ask God for signs of his presence. In this morning’s reading from the Prophet Isaiah, the King of Judah is told by the great prophet: “Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” In other words, ask God to reveal himself to you in any way you’d like, it could be anything from here to Timbuktu. The King of Judah said, “No, I will not ask for a sign. I will not put the LORD to the test.” This may initially sound quite pious of the king, whose words may remind us of the words of Jesus when he was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, who urged him to essentially jump off a cliff and then watch angels save him from certain death. Jesus quoted Deuteronomy saying, “It is written, ‘Do not put the LORD your God to the test.’” (Deut 6:16; Luke 4:12). However, the king of Judah here is not being tempted by the devil; he is being spoken to by the great Hebrew prophet Isaiah, who speaks on behalf of the Lord. It would be kind of like me rejecting the guidance and counsel of Archbishop Desmond Tutu or brushing aside the wisdom of Rowan Williams with some pious platitude.
The King of Judah who rejects Isaiah’s invitation is King Ahaz, who is actually a distant ancestor of Jesus (Matthew 1:9). He is a relatively young king who is under enormous pressure as the northern kingdoms of Israel and Syria are joining forces to attack his kingdom. It is in this context that the prophet Isaiah urges King Ahaz to pray and to ask God for a sign. After King Ahaz rejects this advice, Isaiah’s response is priceless. He essentially says, “King Ahaz, your false piety is not only annoying to all of us. It’s also annoying to God. So whether you ask for it or not, God is going to give you a sign.” And the sign is a child, who will soon be born of his young wife, and who will be named Immanuel. God promises that by the time his son is old enough to know the difference between good and evil, the two kingdoms that are now causing him so much dread will essentially be nonexistent. With this sign, God is teaching King Ahaz that in only a few years, everything that is stressing him out now won’t even matter. God invites King Ahaz to let go of the stress that makes him think that everything is an emergency and that a decision must be made right away and invites him to embrace the faith the reassures him that everything will happen in God’s good time and that God will be with him all along the way. And his son Immanuel, which means “God with us,” will be a living reminder of God’s promised presence and assurance.
Young Immanuel grew up to become one of the greatest kings of Judah (King Hezekiah) and also a great (x 12) grandfather of Joseph who appears in this morning’s Gospel, struggling with his own stress as he learns that his beloved fiancé Mary is with child, out of wedlock. While he is planning to dismiss Mary quietly, Joseph receives a sign from God, whether he asked for it or not. The sign is an angel of the Lord telling him not to be afraid, inviting him to let go of the stress that makes him think that everything is an emergency and to embrace the faith the assures him that everything will happen in God’s good time and that God will be with him all along the way. And the author of Matthew’s Gospel is wise enough to see how God’s sign to Joseph is in many ways the same as God’s sign to King Ahaz: a child who becomes a living reminder of God’s promised presence and assurance. A child whose name is “Immanuel,” which means “God with us.”
During these final moments of Advent, we are preparing for the great feast of the Incarnation and the twelve days of the Christmas season, when we celebrate God’s sign to all of us. Just as God sent a sign to King Ahaz and Joseph, so too has God sent us a sign, an invitation for us to let go of any stress or dread and to embrace the promise of God’s presence. May we be so bold to ask God for more tangible signs of his loving presence and assurance this holiday season and may we have eyes to recognize the signs he sends our way in our friendships, our family, our church, our liturgy, and our collective service to those in need, and in the bread and wine made holy. May we remember that most of what is stressing us out now probably won’t matter at all in a few years (or even a few days) so we can let go of our stress and embrace the faith that reassures us that everything will happen in God’s good time and that God, whose sign to us is a child named Immanuel, will remain present with us all along the way. Amen.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 