Be Careful What you Ask For

Written by Ed Kauffman

Be Careful What you Ask For

Advent IV, December 19, 2010

 

Scripture Texts – Isaiah 7:10-17; Matthew 1:18-25

 

How often have you heard someone say, or said yourself, "If only God would send me a sign"? If only I knew for sure what God wanted me to do. Wouldn’t life be so much easier? And yet, getting a sign can be a little tricky.

King Ahaz was in a bind. Ahaz ruled the tiny country of Judah which had resisted occupation all these years. Assyria was the dominant power in those days, and had for years dominated the countries around Judah. Now Syria and Israel, to the North, had decided to overthrow Assyrian rule, and were threatening to overrun Judah as well if King Ahaz didn’t join them. In order not to be overthrown by Syria and Israel, Ahaz contemplated making an alliance with Assyria, a mutual defense league if you will.

So those were his choices. Either join Syria and Israel and risk being taken over by Assyria, or make a pact with Assyria in order to defend against his northern neighbours. And then there was the pesky prophet Isaiah who came along and said, "God says you shouldn’t do either of those things, but rather rely on God to protect you." Isaiah in essence says that neither of those options is very good, but if you trust in God, Jerusalem will be spared and the people saved.

And yet Ahaz dithered. Isaiah’s counsel didn’t make much political sense, and neither political option seemed good. So Isaiah said, "Look, if it helps you to decide to listen to God, ask God for a sign – ask anything!" "Oh," says Ahaz, "I wouldn’t do that. I don’t want to put God to the test. After all, doesn’t it say somewhere that we’re not supposed to tempt God?"

Most commentators however see this as a false piety on King Ahaz’s part. The real issue seems to be, what happens if you ask for a sign, and God gives it to you! How do you then say "no"? Perhaps Ahaz recalled Gideon, that most famous of sign askers, who got his first sign and then said, well, I’m still not sure, let’s try it again. And after God had given him three signs Gideon had little choice but to go along with God.

If you ask God for a sign, and God gives you that sign, it’s quite hard to then decide otherwise. I’ve heard Gay tell of asking God for a sign while we were dating, and she’s had to put up with me ever since. Ahaz was no fool, but he was a politician and was not about to be put in a corner by God giving him a sign. And so Isaiah, exasperated by this says, well God will give you a sign anyway. A young woman will bear a child and call him Immanuel, and before he is very old, your political solutions will become disasters.

We don’t know exactly who the young woman referred to by Isaiah was – some speculate that it was King Ahaz’s wife, others that it was the prophet Isaiah’s wife. In any case King Ahaz did make an alliance with Assyria, and before long the kingdom of Judah ceased to exist, as it was overrun by the new superpower, Babylon.

We also don’t know if Joseph asked for a sign or not, for he too was faced with a dilemma. What to do with his pregnant bride-to-be? It seems he had already made a decision, although even dismissing her quietly would certainly have raised questions in some people’s minds, when God gave him a sign. I mean what could be more clear than an angel showing up! Even if Joseph didn’t ask for a sign, he surely got one, and how do you say no to an angel?

But paying attention to signs from God can make life difficult. Ahaz knew that and didn’t want a sign. Joseph may not have asked for a sign, but got one and it changed his life. It meant defying social norms, agreeing to follow through and marry this young woman and as we will see next week, led to a total uprooting of his life.

Matthew connects these two events – the sign to King Ahaz and the birth of Jesus. That connection has been the source of much discussion and controversy over the centuries, largely based on translations of the word for "young woman" in Hebrew and "virgin" in Greek and what they mean or meant. For some that distinction has become the only test of orthodoxy and churches have split over its interpretation. But it seems to me that the important connection is really over the matter of signs.

In both cases a sign is given that calls for a response. King Ahaz refuses the sign, doesn’t pay attention to the sign given, and reaps the consequences. Joseph does pay attention to the sign and follows God’s leading, taking Mary as his wife and naming him Jesus as the angel had said.

So for us the question becomes, "What will we do with the sign given to us?" For we too have been given a sign. Matthew says Jesus came among us as Immanuel, God with us, a sign for the ages. And already in the account of Matthew we are given a hint that saying yes to God’s sign will mean changes in our lives, just as it did for Joseph. It may mean going against the conventional wisdom or social norms. It may mean a change in lifestyle or how we respond to threats of violence. It may mean dealing with people that you wouldn’t normally associate with.

James Boyce, Luther Seminary puts it this way,


As we prepare for Christmas and to receive this child we, too, might ask what happens when God is an intrusion into our nicely laid plans and decisions? How do we know when God is speaking to us and when it is just bad food? Depending on your perspective, intervention can be the good news of rescue or deliverance, or it can be just plain meddling. In Advent we pray, "Stir up your power, Lord, and come." Are we really ready to risk that such a prayer might be answered? To be open to this story means to invite the possibility that obedient discipleship may transform us and lead us in ways we had never imagined.

So when you’re faced with a decision, and think about asking God for a sign, be careful. God is known to send signs. Be sure you’re ready to follow through because if God sends you a clear sign, it’s kind of hard to say, "no." But then again, saying yes puts you in good company with people like Moses and Miriam, Esther and Mary, Isaiah and Joseph.

Not everyone who received a sign became famous. We don’t know the names of any of the shepherds who were watching their flocks that night, but when they followed the sign given to them by the angels, we can be sure their lives were changed as well.

The Advent season leads us toward the birth of a child, a sign from God that God cares about the whole of creation. This child, born in unconventional circumstances, born as a helpless infant to human parents, comes as a sign of and the announcer of a new kingdom –unlike any kingdom this world knows. And if we heed this sign, it will change our lives, sometimes in unexpected and unusual ways. The sign has been given, even if we like King Ahaz didn’t ask for it. Can we refuse to pay attention?

Prayer:

Like it or not, O God, you have sent us your son, Jesus, as a sign of your kingdom breaking into this world. Thank you. Like Joseph, the shepherds, and many people after them, let us heed the sign and follow with joy that baby whose birth we celebrate and in whose name we pray. Amen.