Sermon, Father William J. Albinger
Advent 4A
December 22, 2013
(Sermon delivered from notes – this is a recreation)
Texts: Isaiah 7:10-16; Matthew 1:18-25
In the name of our one living God who creates abundantly, loves
extravagantly and sustains eternally: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today’s reading from the Hebrew Scriptures is a familiar one: the birth of a child who
shall be called Immanuel – meaning “God with you” – to a young woman. Thanks to Johann
Sebastian Bach, this passage has long been associated with Christmas. Too often we read the
Hebrew Scriptures exclusively through Christian lenses. I believe the Hebrew Scriptures deserve more respect than to be treated as some sort of Ouji Board that predicts the future. So
let’s put today’s reading in its right historical setting. I think having the original context gives
the lesson deeper and richer meaning.
It is more than 500 years before Christmas morning. King David’s kindom has
been split into two separate Jewish kingdoms. The Northern Jewish Kingdom of Israel has
aligned itself with Judea’s enemy, and Judea’s King Ahaz is terrified that Jerusalem will fall.
Isaiah tells him to ask for a sign – any kind of sign – from God to reassure himself of God's
favor. Ahaz refuses for ostensibly pious reasons. However, his refusal is probably far more
a sign of his fear than of his piety. Isaiah tells him, “Is it not enough that you tire humans but
that now you must tire the Lord?” So Isaiah tells him God will give him a sign despite his fear
– a child will be born to a young woman and before this child reaches the age of knowing good
from evil, Ahaz’s enemies will have themselves fallen and their lands taken. Judea and Jerusalem will stand.
What can we take away from this account? I think it belies the idea that our God is a God
of magic – who runs the world like a puppeteer. God acts through time and history. We are part
of the story! The selection of the birth of a helpless young child as a sign of an event so great as
the falling of two kingdoms and the salvation of a nation commands our attention. The unimportance and vulnerability of an infant who will grow through time and experience into one who
will set the world right is indeed a sign of both God’s faithfulness and power. It is a sign that
hope and trust, however small, can overcome the greatest forces of evil.
In today’s Gospel lesson we read part of Matthew’s narrative of Jesus’ birth. Of the four
Gospels, only Matthew and Luke contain birth narratives. Luke focuses on Mary; for Luke,
Joseph is more of an afterthought. But Matthew puts Joseph squarely into the story. Matthew is
from a largely Jewish group of Jesus followers and for him Joseph’s genealogy is important to
tie Jesus to the Davidic royal line. Matthew thus must confront not only the promise of
Jesus’ birth but also the social scandal. Mary is with child and Joseph had no part in it! You
can imagine how dangerous that situation would be in that culture and how hurt and tormented
Joseph may have felt. What to do? He could call her out publicly but that would ruin her and
the child’s futures forever as well as be a public humiliation for himself. There seemed to be no
good solution. So he decides to quietly dismiss her and her unborn child. Hoping against hope,
he thinks that might have a chance of working.
But God intervenes by sending an angel as a messenger to tell Joseph not to fear. The
child is born of God’s Spirit. “Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife and name the child
Jesus for He will save his people from their sins.” The angel gives Joseph the faith and hope he
needed to make what would have otherwise been an unthinkable decision. His faith in God and
his love for Mary and an innocent unborn child allowed him to say, “Yes.”
I do “chapel” every Thursday with the preschoolers. They pick up very quickly that the
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first words out of angels’ mouths are almost invariably, “Don’t be afraid.” Angels bring good
news from God and later these angels will announce the birth of a Messiah, a Savior.
Today a lot of people wonder what a “savior” means and whether we still need one. If
one is reasonably content with one’s life and in reasonably good health, that is not an unreasonable question to ask. “I’m a good person. Things are going OK. Why should I think about
God and Christ?” When children have never been told the stories or taken to church, such
questions may not even occur to them. Do we still need a Savior? For a lot of people that is a
question they ask if they stop to think about it.
But then there are those moments of crisis when the thought occurs to us. There are
those moments of torment or despair when life itself seems unendurable. Is that when the
question makes sense? What about those moments of wonder and sublime beauty? Does God
enter our consciousness then? When we see the horrors of war, the killing of little children in
their schools, the hungry and the helpless, do we wonder about where is God in all this?
These are the questions that shopping malls, holiday parties and incessant Christmas
music (playing since Halloween) seek to drown out. What are we wanting this Christmas?
What do we expect or hope for? More stuff, or the reality of hope, peace, joy and love in our
lives that we mark when we light the Advent Wreath candles?
Christmas is indeed about the birth of a vulnerable baby to frightened young couple who
were themselves poor and vulnerable. But that baby grew up and knew the difference between
good and evil. He lived a life and died a death that demonstrated that difference and the power
of hope and trust in God. The reality of Christmas is that it has meaning only when joined with
the life, love and teachings of Jesus, when it is joined with his faithfulness to the Father unto
death on a cross and to God’s power shown in His Resurrection.
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For Christmas to happen, both young Mary and tormented Joseph had to say “yes” to
God’s promise. Both had to hope and trust in God. So Christmas is about us also. Will we
open ourselves to God’s love and say yes to hope and trust? Yes, it takes courage.
But remember what angels always tell us – “Don’t be afraid.”
AMEN.
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