Year A Fourth Sunday of Advent 19 December 2010
Isaiah 7: 10-16 Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19 Romans 1: 1-7 Matthew 1: 18-25
Isaiah 7: 10-14 “10 Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, 11 “Ask the LORD your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”
12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the LORD to the test.”
13 Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
Throughout this season of Advent there has been a song that keeps coming to mind. The song begins with the words, “I have made you too small in my eye. Oh Lord, forgive”. Then the chorus goes on.. “be magnified oh Lord.....”
I feel that this week’s readings really ask us the question, Have we made God too small in our eyes?
How strange it is, that only last week I was speaking about my lovely car, because right after I sent the reflection I went to go somewhere in my car and the back door wouldn’t open. It seemed like something was jamming it and I tried numerous times to open it – without forcing it as I knew that would do damage.
In the meantime I continued to drive my car and do things as I didn’t have time to take the car to someone to get it fixed. I prayed about it. I prayed something like, “God, I know you can do all things.. do you think you could fix my door?”
Imagine my surprise when a few days later I asked Brittany to have a go at doing exactly what I’d done numerous times in an effort to open the door, and it open easily!!!!!
Of course there is probably a logical explanation, and I was pondering that logical explanation, when I realized that I wasn’t acknowledging God’s part..... or minimising his part. I consciously had to check myself and remind myself that God can do these things and I shouldn’t doubt, but should give Him the glory. The door was fixed after prayer and beyond any doubt to me – God did it! Does God care about these seemingly trivial things? We have only to read the Gospels to see the many seemingly trivial things that Jesus provided for the people. He cares about anything that is concern to us - small or great!
Have we reduced God to that safety net for when we die, diminishing his power to affect our lives here and now?
In our first reading God speaks to the king Ahaz to ask him for a sign. King Ahaz was a king dreading two kings who were against him.... he needed encouragement from God. He needed to have a promise of assurance from God, but he didn’t expect to get it. God gives him assurance regardless and gives the prophetic message about the virgin being with child.
We really are no different from King Ahaz. We need the encouragement of God’s promise, but do we expect God to do this for us? We hear the message of God, but it goes in one ear and out the other, as we expect that it isn’t really for us.... and we don’t ask God for assurance in a sign... we would feel foolish... And yet God was happy to give Ahaz a sign.
Now not only do we minimise God in our eyes by not expecting him to encourage us with personal promises, but we doubt the signs that he has given.
Do you think it was any less perplexing to the people who originally received this message – that a virgin would be with child- than it is for those in our generation? People often ask things about God, things that they don’t understand and can’t grasp, and it all boils down to this same attitude of doubt.
Our readings this week remind us of the virgin birth. It is a stumbling block to unbelievers and sadly many believers over the years have lost faith over this and other issues. There are many things about God that we can not understand. A little child asking a father to explain quantum physics would be left just as perplexed. In the same way we are the children of God and our minds are too immature to grasp some things about God. But some things we don’t understand are not because we can’t but that we are unwilling to except the greatness of God.
I was having a conversation with a friend who was having difficulty comprehending the Trinity. How can God be one and yet three? And how can Jesus be God yet call God his father? It is an issue that comes up often and I have used many explanations, but they are never quite adequate to settle the matter. Co-incidentally, we’d been watching TV and the ad for the chocolates, Fererer Roche’s had been on a little earlier. It is the one where there are three different kinds of chocolates are offered to the beautiful goddess. Everyone waits to see which she’ll choose first. Then she becomes three and chooses one of each. Perfect!
We have this amazing gift of imagination that allows us to accept these fantasy aspects without question. So why can’t we apply the same principles to God? The answer is that we make God too small in our eyes. We reduce him to our own limitations instead to realizing that he is God.
At Christmas we celebrate that Jesus came.... he was the promised Messiah, but he was much more than anyone anticipated.
Romans 1:1-4 “ 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Humanly speaking, Jesus was a descendant of King David. In fact his linage can be traced back to Adam. But more importantly he was the son of God. He was like us and yet he is God. There is so much more to Jesus and the evidence for that is that he rose from the dead.
The Resurrection is another stumbling block. Many have tried to explain it away in “logical” terms. I’ve even come across the notion that Jesus wasn’t really dead.... just unconscious. No one who reads the scriptures can possibly believe such a ridiculous lie. Jesus blood was completely shed and the guards checked to see that he was dead before taking him from the cross. They saw that he was already dead and so they didn’t break his legs as they did to other crucifixion victims, but just to be absolutely certain they pierced his side... that was when the water flowed out with the last remnants of Jesus blood.
Now.... I can come up with many logical explanations for my car door and say that God was behind it, but it was still logical, but the resurrection is a whole different story. The resurrection happened because Jesus is God and God is beyond our human logic.
When we have truly grasped this, the virgin birth needs no explanation or discussion.
I pray that this Christmas we grow to really accept the miracles of God. Our faith is a story of God’s love and power, his amazing sacrifice in becoming vulnerable and dying for us. But as St. Paul has said in his letter, if the resurrection has not happened then everything is a lie, and we should be pitied and ridiculous people with a ridiculous faith... but the resurrection did happen. Let us not make God too small in our eyes. “Oh Lord, be magnified.”
No comments:
Post a Comment