Homily 4th Sunday of Advent - December 18, 2022

 Readings can be found here.

            The virgin will conceive and bear a son and shall name him Emmanuel.  Two different men were given this promise.  In the time of Isaiah, King Ahaz received this prophecy as a sign.  Joseph was also given this sign by an angel in a dream.  Their circumstances were similar, but their actions were very different.  God told Ahaz to ask for a sign but Ahaz refused.  From our reading, it might appear Ahaz is a righteous person.  He fears the Lord and won’t tempt God.  Isaiah’s response that Ahaz is making God weary seems odd from that perspective.  It's helpful to understand why God allowed Ahaz to ask for a sign.

            After the death of king Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split in two.  There was Israel in the north and Judah in the south.  Ahaz was the king of Judah and he had a big political problem.  Assyria was getting ready to go to war with the kingdoms of Israel and Damascus.  Assyria was trying to conquer the region and build their empire.  Israel and Damascus wanted to force Ahaz to join with them in opposing Assyria.  Ahaz was not fond of this arrangement.  Instead, he thought it would be better to make an alliance with Assyria.  He probably thought Assyria had the stronger army and wanted to side with the winners.  Isaiah, however, was against an alliance with Assyria.  He thought Ahaz should rely on God to help them, not some foreign nation.  God was willing to give Ahaz a sign to show He was with Judah.  Ahaz preferred to rely on his own judgement and only acted like it was out of respect for God.  Ahaz trusted in himself and there was peace in Judah for a time.  However, Judah became a subservient nation to the Assyrians.

            Joseph also had a big problem.  He found out his betrothed was pregnant and he wasn’t the father.  Initially, Joseph also wanted to rely on his own judgement in what to do.  Joseph was a righteous man and faithful Jewish person.  He would follow the law and divorce his wife, albeit quietly.  God also sent Joseph a message, through an angel.  This situation was a sign.  Mary was pregnant through the Holy Spirit and would give birth to Emmanuel, God is with us.  Unlike Ahaz, Joseph trusted God and followed God’s will for him.  This decision likely didn’t make Joseph’s life easier.  While the Gospels don’t tell us much about Joseph, we know he led the life of a laborer.  He cared for his wife and son.  When Jesus was lost for three days in Jerusalem, we know he and Mary were anxious about Jesus.  Joseph also taught Jesus his trade so they must have spent a lot of time together.  While we don’t know if Joseph had a peaceful life, I bet he had peace of heart.  He named his son Jesus, Emmanuel, God is with us.  God was physically with Joseph until he died.

            God is with us also.  God speaks to us in the Scriptures.  Through the Sacrament of Confirmation, we’re sealed and strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  Most importantly, God is with us directly through the Eucharist.  In the Eucharist, Jesus is truly present in the form of bread and wine.  When we partake of the Eucharist, God is not only with us, but IN us.  God becomes a part of us.  Like Joseph, do we place our trust in God?  Do we rely on God to help us in difficult situations?  There was a time in my life where I was out of work and concerned about supporting my family.  I was doing everything I could think to do to find a new job.  Except asking God for help.  I was relying on myself and getting nowhere.  I was worried, stressed, probably making my family miserable.  I certainly didn’t feel peace.  Then one day at Mass, I realized I couldn’t do it myself any longer.  I let God in and asked Him to help me.  The sense of relief and peace was immediate.  I trusted in God and things eventually worked out.  Not only that, God blessed me more than I could have imagined.

            God promised Ahaz and Joseph that God would be with them.  God asks us to trust that He is with us as well.  Ahaz trusted in himself and ended up a servant of the Assyrians.  Joseph trusted in God and is a model for us as a father and worker.  Who do we trust?  Do we rely on ourselves when difficulties arise in our lives?  Or do we trust that God will care for us and bless us more that we can imagine?