ISAIAH 7:10-16
THE BACKGROUND
In today’s first reading, we could simply latch onto verse 14, and cast the rest to the side. But if we did, we’d miss the richer meaning of these verses. We’d miss what God was trying to say through Isaiah to Ahaz, the king of Judah.
- King Ahaz was faced with a double threat. His two neighbors to the north—Israel and Syria had been defeated by the Assyrians to their north. Israel and Syria had been paying a financial tribute to Assyria, and they were sick of doing so. They wanted Judah to join them in a revolt against Assyria. Ahaz refused to join the party, so these two nations began attacking Judah. Ahaz was in a pickle. Assyria was the big bully, but these two kingdoms were also causing him grief. What should he do? He should, as King of Judah, listen to what God would like him to do for His people. God knows that Ahaz is undecided as to what to do. The riskiest of his options is to trust in God. Let’s see what happens.
THE DETAIL
- God recognizes that Ahaz has his doubts about God’s presence, so through Isaiah God tells Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. (vv. 10-11)
- Ahaz does not put God to the test. It appears from this statement that Ahaz is a man of faith. But his actions will show this not to be the case. (v. 12)
- God despairs—“You’re wearing me down!!!” (v. 13)
- God will give Ahaz a sign, regardless. God says—“Guess what? Your wife is pregnant, and will bear a son! The Davidic line will be passes from you to him! This proves that I am with you.” (v. 14)
- Verses 15 and 16 are a little confusing. One way to interpret this is that maybe the “curds and honey” is a reference to the milk and honey of the Promised Land. A “child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good” means that they can discern between good and evil. It generally refers to when a person reaches maturity (puberty in middle eastern cultures). Essentially, God is telling Ahaz that the problem will solve itself in 10-12 years. Ahaz must simply have faith in God, and wait.
THE TAKEAWAY
According to 2 Kings 16, Ahaz decides to go to the Assyrian king, and tell him what is going on. He asks the Assyrian king to save him. In the end, Ahaz gives Assyria a lot of money to be Judah’s protector. Worse yet, Ahaz has an altar to the Assyrian gods installed in God’s house in Jerusalem.
But what about God’s sign? Ahaz’s son was Hezekiah. And yes, about the time that Hezekiah was reaching puberty, Syria and Israel were destroyed. They were no longer a threat. The Davidic line continued on, despite Ahaz’s indecision and lack of a strong faith.
Early Christians, including Matthew, recognize these words as foretelling the gift of God’s son. God would indeed live among us.
ROMANS 1:1-7
THE BACKGROUND
In modern times, we write letters according to a certain format: First, the date, then the name to whom the letter is addressed (“Dear Betty,”). Then comes the body of the letter, followed by a closing address (Yours truly,) and the name of the person writing the letter.
In Paul’s day, letter forms were different; almost backward to today’s format. It started with the name of the person writing the letter, followed by a greeting. Then comes the body of the letter, often followed by greetings to named individuals. This is how Paul’s letters were written. Usually, in his opening greeting Paul will make a statement of faith—state some truth or truths about God, Jesus, and our relationship with them.
It is also important to note that this letter was written to a church which Paul has neither founded or visited. So, one purpose of his opening greeting is to introduce himself to the church in Rome.
THE DETAIL
I’m going to paraphrase this reading, verse by verse. If I make comments along the way, they will be in parenthesis.
- Hi, my name is Paul. I’m a servant of Jesus Christ. I have been called to be an apostle, so that I can proclaim the Good News of God.
- God promised this Good News first to the many prophets of old.
- It is the Good News of the gift of his son. On the human side of things (“according to the flesh”), he was descended from King David (and therefore fit to be our king).
- On the spiritual side of things (“according to the spirit of holiness), God exalted him through his crucifixion.
- We, my team, have received God’s free grace, and have been designated as His apostles to everyone including the Gentiles. We are doing this for the sake of his holy name (and not ours).
- We have been called to care for everyone, even including yourselves who believe in Jesus.
- To all the Christians (“saints”) in Rome we greet you in the name of God the Father and Son.
THE TAKEAWAY
Paul will go on to explain all these words in great detail. The most important takeaway from this passage is that God’s gift of loving grace is free to all believe. This grace is available not only to his “chosen people” but to all—even us Gentiles!
The word “saint” means “holy”. The beatification of saints by the Catholic Church did not begin until several hundred years before Paul wrote this. Paul used the word “saint” to refer to all those who believed in Jesus.
MATTHEW 1:18-25
THE BACKGROUND
Matthew wrote his gospel mainly to the Jewish community. His aim was to demonstrate how Jesus fulfilled Holy Scripture known by all the Jews of the time. This is why he quotes the Old Testament more than any other gospel writer. It’s why you’ll see the phrase “as it is written…” many times in Matthew’s gospel. In fact, Matthew begins his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, tracing him back through David, all the way to Abraham. Today’s passage comes right after the conclusion to this genealogy. It’s almost Christmas, so we (finally) get to hear about the birth of Jesus.
THE DETAIL
- So, Mary is engaged to Joseph, but was “found to be pregnant”. This is nothing special, even to this day. But in this case, she was “with child from the Holy Spirit.” (v. 18)
- Joseph could have taken several courses of action. In this case, because he is a prudent man and apparently was concerned about Mary’s well-being, he wanted to dismiss her quietly. (It’s is what they did back then.) (v. 19)
- But wait! There’s more! In steps an angel, and explains to Joseph that this pregnancy is part of God’s plan to “save his people from their sins.” (vv. 20-21)
- Matthew now refers to Isaiah 7:14 (that we just read), and tells his readers that Holy Scripture was being fulfilled in this remarkable act. (vv. 22-23)
- Joseph displays far more faith and trust in God than did King Ahaz. In spite of the shame he would face, he was obedient to God, and married Mary. Furthermore, he respected what was to happen so much that he did not exercise his marital privileges until after Jesus was born. (v. 25)
THE TAKEAWAY
We really don’t know much about Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph. But we can tell a lot about his faith and goodness by this story. He shows love and caring for Mary. Furthermore, he listens and obeys God’s messenger regarding Mary’s pregnancy. Even though it would be a costly decision, he chooses to obey God, and be Mary’s husband.
God has plans for our world. We can help, hinder, or simply get out of the way. Let’s be like Joseph, and obey God’s plans for us!
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Emmanuel means “God with us”. Jesus walked this earth and experienced life as we know it. He will come again. Meanwhile, he lives in our hearts and is present when we gather in his name, and in the sharing of the bread and wine of the Eucharist. God is truly with us in all that we do.