December 22, 2002
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Isaiah 40:1-11
"Comfort, comfort O my people, says our God." There are times when all of us need to hear words of comfort. I certainly needed to hear a word of comfort yesterday when I learned of the death of our faithful organist, Jon Soule. Knowing that God is present, even when pain, suffering, and darkness is all around, gives much comfort to those who have the hope that God can and will make things new.
This was certainly the case for the exiled people of Israel, who in the year 587 BCE, were taken from Jerusalem and forced to live in Babylon. *Imagine a people in exile, who many decades later, were still hanging on desperately to a hope that some day they may go home. Imagine their being given the chance to finally return to their homeland. Imagine them making the decision to leave behind their settled lives and to take the risk to journey across hundreds of miles of dangerous desert in order to return to their beloved city of Jerusalem. It is into this context, that Isaiah speaks a word of comfort, of hope, and of deliverance.
Using very poetic imagery, Isaiah describes that day when the people of Israel will leave Babylon, travel straight through the treacherous desert, and return to their homeland. "Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low, the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain." In other words, what Isaiah is saying to this weary, dejected people is that with God all things are possible.
Empires rise and fall. Wealth and power ebb and flow. Feelings and relationships change. People come to life and then they die. But "the word of our God will stand forever."
Isaiah 7:10-15
Isaiah uses the image of a new born child to instill hope into a fearful leader. This is the situation. The year is about 750 BCE. The land of Israel has been divided into two kingdoms: the northern kingdom which at this point is called Israel, and the southern Kingdom which is known as Judah. King Ahaz, the king of Judah, is trying to make up his mind about whether to form a military alliance with the northern Kingdom of Israel and Syria. At this time in history, the kingdom of Assyria is growing strong and mighty and is expanding its territory. Assyria has its eyes on the northern and southern kingdoms of Israel. So, king Ahaz needs to discern the best military strategy for his country. His fellow countrymen want him to make an allegiance with those countries who want to fight against Assyria. Ahaz is not sure whether this is a good idea.
It is into this context that Isaiah advises king Ahaz not to form that military alliance. Like any one of us who is in the midst of making an important decision, Ahaz wishes that he had clarity; clarity from God and clarity in his own mind. A sign from God would certainly help in making such a life and death decision. Isaiah offers Ahaz a sign from God. He tells the King that a child is about to be born whose name is Immanuel which means God is with us. Before this child is weaned from the breast, the two countries that Ahaz was thinking about forming an alliance with, will be conquered. This in fact did happen and the southern kingdom was spared.
About 800 years later, this same passage from scripture was used to offer a sign of hope to a people who lived in darkness. Later, many Christians began to associate this passage from Isaiah with the birth of Jesus. However, this passage from Isaiah was specific for its time and should not be used to predict the birth of Jesus nor to justify a virginal conception. There are other passages in the New Testament that do just that.
This passage reminds us that in our own process of discernment, we need to rely on God's wisdom as well as our own. This passage is call for all of us to become aware and acknowledge the hand of God in our daily experience. God's vision, God's purpose, and God's signs are all around us. But we need to listen, look, and be ready in order to be aware of them.
Luke 1:26-28
Perhaps one of the most frequently painted images of Scripture is that of the annunciation. *In Fra Angelica's presentation of the annunciation, the angel Gabriel is leaning forward with outstretched arms while Mary is both drawn forward and yet wary of the visitor. Their eyes are locked together as if sight alone can ask the angel's question and give Mary's response. Both the question and response are mysterious beyond words. The angel announces that Mary will bear a child. Mary is perplexed. She asks: "How can this be since I am a virgin?" The angel replies: "the Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
This passage is not a passage about divine copulation or obstetrics. Rather, it is a theological statement. It is a passage about the Holy Spirit coming upon Mary and the power of the Most High overshadowing her. The conception and birth of Christ remain a mystery. Today, science is able to provide infertile couples as well as single mothers with a child. God works through many avenues, some of which we understand and some of which we do not. Miracles happen today. Miracles happened yesterday.
I don't know exactly how Mary was impregnated. If someone were to show me undeniable evidence that Jesus was born through the love she shared with Joseph or someone else, I would not feel for a moment that the work of the Holy Spirit or the overshadowing of the power of God had been any less.
But one thing I know for sure. Because Mary said yes, a holy birth was made possible. Mary said: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Mary became a Christ bearer; the mother of Christ. As people committed to the path of light, we are called to also be bearers of Christ. We are called to say yes to God.
Luke 2:15-20
We hear part of the Christmas story once again. It is very simple in the telling but profound in its meaning for us. The shepherds hear the good news of the birth, and immediately seek out the holy child. The shepherds are perhaps the most simple of folk in first century Palestine in contrast to the sophistication we sometimes admire and strive for. But is it in the simplicities that God enters our lives and the world.
*The good news is that God is not somewhere out there, just beyond the reach of the lens of the Hubble telescope. God is with us and among us. The question is, do have the time and the simplicity to seek God out?
*Herbert O'Driscoll, The Word Among Us, Toronto Canada, 1999.
| Updated 1/05/03 |
|