Trust in God: 4th Sunday of Advent

 Trust in God 

Trust in God and he will save you.  Trust in men and, well, tough luck.

Our first reading on this 4th Sunday of Advent is about a king who refuses to trust in the Lord:

The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the netherworld, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
“I will not ask!  I will not tempt the LORD!”
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel. (Isaiah 7:10-14)

Now, the immediate connection for us here is the last two lines. This is the source of the prophecy Matthew cites in today’s Gospel reading. In the Gospel, it is a clear reference to the coming of the savior Jesus Christ. The book of Isaiah, however, was written more than half a millennium before the birth of Jesus.  Who was this Ahaz who, out of an apparent excess of piety, refuses to “tempt the Lord?” And what was the immediate occasion of Isaiah’s prophecy?

 “Do Not Fear” 

Ahaz was a king of Judah, the southern part of what had once been the kingdom of David and Solomon. The northern half of David’s former kingdom, Israel, had made an alliance with the king of Damascus in order to wage war on Judah. Ahaz decided that a prudent course of action would be to make an alliance with the king of Assyria, Sennacherib.

Not a good plan, Ahaz. When you make a deal with the Devil, you’ve got to give the Devil his due. And the Assyrian king Sennacherib makes a very adequate stand-in for the Prince of Darkness himself.  Accordingly, the Lord instructs Prophet Isaiah to go to Ahaz and say:

‘Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands . . . (Isaiah 7:4)

Ahaz, apparently, is still inclined toward faintness of heart, because the Lord next offers him a sign, as we read above.

 Too Little. Too Late 

The king is unmoved. He sells his kingdom to Assyria in return for protection against his more immediate enemies. His plan seems to pay off, at least at first. Judah remains untroubled by war for the rest of his reign. But the price is steep. Assyria’s conquest of the northern Jewish kingdom begins the process which eventually brings about its compete and permanent eradication. As for Judah, it is now an Assyrian possession.

Ahaz himself turns from God and defiles the Temple with religious practices he learned from the Assyrians. His reforming son Hezekiah works to undo the harm his father has done, and does buy more time for the remaining Jewish kingdom.  But it’s too little, too late. A little more than a century later, the Babylonians will destroy the Kingdom of Judah and send its people into an eighty-year exile in Babylon.

 The Anti-Ahaz 

We can see Joseph in today’s Gospel reading as a sort of Anti-Ahaz. Like the Judaean king, he finds himself facing a difficult situation. He also, like Ahaz, has a choice between what the world offers as a way out, or trusting in the unseen power of God. Both hear the admonition that they need not be afraid if they put their trust in the Lord. Ahaz’s lack of faith, however, leads to disaster, death, and destruction. Joseph’s leap of faith opens the door for the Messiah. Accordingly, it is Joseph who sees the sign offered to Ahaz.

And, of course, it’s more than a sign. Much, much more. The Son born of the Virgin is the Eternal Word, the Second Person of the Trinity Himself.

And yet, we don’t all see it. Let’s be honest, every one of us has our Ahaz moments.  How often do we put our faith in human stratagems instead of trusting in God? How many times have sold ourselves to Sennacherib? On the 4th Sunday of Advent the readings remind us that we can’t bring about our own salvation.  Only Jesus Saves.

 Trust in God With Us 

Before this week is done we’ll celebrate the great Solemnity of Christmas, the joyous celebration of God entering into humanity. That’s Good News of Great Joy (see Luke 2:10). That doesn’t mean an end to hardship and suffering in this world (more on that later). It does mean what the name Emmanuel proclaims: God is with us.  We just need to put our trust in Him.

4th Sunday of Advent Cycle A

Featured image top of page: Joseph’s Dream by Toros Roslin, 1262.

Music for Advent: “People Look East”