“Won’t you ever grow up?” she asked. “No, ma’m. I’m having too much fun as a child!” And I do, ‘speshully at Christmas: I’ve written my letter to Santa and got some Macy’s Bucks; I’ve sampled cheese & sausage at Hickory Farms; I’ve set all the alarm clocks in Mapes’ auction to go off five minutes apart; and I’ve squeezed the “try me” buttons on seven talking santas at CVS… Simultaneously. And the readings for this Fourth Sunday in Advent announce the Presence of the Holy One who became a newborn–vulnerable, dependent and full of potential.
King Ahaz of Jerusalem was scared beyond reason. Syria and Israel had allied themselves to destroy Judah. So in what we now call 743 BC, the prophet Isaiah went to assure Ahaz that God is still in charge. Ahaz didn’t pay much attention, nor would he seek a “sign” –so Isaiah told him of a young woman’s pregnancy; “…and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. [God With Us]” (Isaiah 7:14) “The sign is frustratingly ambiguous. Perhaps this very ambiguity can serve a purpose: to summon us to trust in …the promise that God is with us.” (Patrick W. T. Johnson, FEASTING on the WORD, C 1:77) What signs of faithfulness is God giving today? And, Ahaz-like, we probably dismiss them…
St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans begins with a long and heavy sentence (1:1-7) which prepares us for the solid dogmatics which this important book contains. This is a greeting with news of a Holy Child, one who is special & unique within the religious scene where most power has so far been ascribed to gray-bearded elders and world-molded sages. This greeting is a prologue to seriously consider a vocation of involvement with the ChristChild and all he is to be on earth and in the Ultimate Kingdom of God.
Matthew’s Gospel begins with a dry geneology by which he attempts to prove that Jesus can really be the Messiah–and then continues with a more interesting passage (vv.18-25) which is today’s reading. Joseph knew the ways of the world, and couldn’t think that Mary’s pregnancy was of Holy Origin. Fortunately, he believed in his dreams (childlike, again!) and received the angelic affirmation of Divine Parenthood. He married her despite the cat-calls of his friends, and nurtured the ChristChild as his own.
The sense of these lessons is to remind the hearer again that Divine Presence usually shows up when more sophisticated reason has branded the situation as impossible. Will these “call forth faith in God’s presence with us even when all the details are not clear[?] What is it like to trust in God’s living presence in murky and sometimes frightening situations?” (Johnson, ibid.)
God Bless Us, Every One Horace Brown King
My thoughts on the prescribed scripture lessons for the upcoming weekend can be found each Tuesday at this space on Facebook; and at horacebrownking.com
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