“Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God.”  These words from Isaiah are uttered at a moment when the fate of the kingdom of Judah stands on a knife’s edge. Rival kings of Aram and Israel plan to attack Jerusalem and overthrow King Ahaz. In this time of fear, the prophet Isaiah is dispatched by God with a message of hope: the rival kings will be defeated; Judah will be spared! (v.3-9) Despite these assurances, however, Ahaz remains terrified. Thus, he is told to ask for a sign—what proof will convince him that God will keep his word? But Ahaz refuses to ask, not out of humility, but out of crippling fear and unbelief. Ahaz simply will not believe that God’s power can overcome the much more visible and pressing powers of the world. Nevertheless, perhaps as an act of mercy for the rest of Judah, God grants a sign: “the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.”

Several centuries later, one of Ahaz’s descendants faced a similar moment of crisis. Joseph is betrothed to Mary, but she is pregnant. Joseph thus faces a storm of fear and sorrow as he considers how to handle the situation. Into his confusion comes a spectacular answer: this seemingly “private drama” unfolding between one couple in Nazareth is actually the fulfillment of the ancient promise spoken through Isaiah. God is at last coming to his people, in human form, in the womb of Mary, Joseph’s wife. Unlike Ahaz, Joseph does not have to ask for a sign: he simply believes and does what he has been commanded, giving Mary’s son the name “Jesus” and claiming him for his own. 

Thus, from two descendants of David come two examples: one of deadly unbelief and one of tenacious faith. And which are we? Are we Ahaz, allowing our fears to shut out any hope of deliverance? Or are we imitating St. Joseph, who believed God, who acted in faith, and who received the unspeakable privilege of cradling “God-with-us” in his arms that first Christmas day? 

Reflection by parishioner Kathryn Wilmotte