A Sermon on Isaiah 7:10-16 and Matthew 1:18-25
For the Community of First Austin: a baptist
community of faith
For the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Peace)
December 18, 2016
Incarnate
God, we ask that you once again take the Word and transform it into a living
and breathing reality we can all together experience. Be present here in this
space and in these words God for if you are present here then nothing else will
matter, but if you are not present here then nothing else will matter. In the
name of the Creator, the Christ and the Comforter.
Last
Sunday night I attended Blake’s first piano recital. The teacher began the
recital with a simple introduction of the students and then announced that this
year’s recital was going to be different than any recital she had previously
directed. Typically she did not allow a song to be played and performed by more
than one student, simply to avoid comparison between the performances. However this
year she had changed her own rule because she wanted us as parents to hear the
difference as students progress through piano lessons. So during the recital we
were going to hear the holiday classic Silver Bells three times.
The
first time it was played by my niece Madyson and it was a simple arrangement.
This is her second year of piano. It was beyond the simple 5-finger
arrangement; there was some basic left hand accompaniment while the right hand
played the melody that we all know so well. The second time the song was
performed it was by a slightly older student. The arrangement was a bit more
complex; there was independence of hands playing different yet compatible
rhythms. The student used the pedals a bit. The third time the song was
performed it was by one of the oldest students in the recital. There were more
rhythmic complexities, there were shorter notes in the arrangement (eighth
notes, sixteenth notes) and the student used the pedals throughout the piece.
And
this progression could have continued because there exists more difficult
arrangements of Silver Bells that are worked into more complex classical
arrangements and performed in huge concert halls by world-renowned performers
during the holiday season.
The
same song progressing, changing and new life being given to it at every level…
however it’s important to note the melody held, those eight bars are what makes
Silver Bells, Silver Bells. Which is exactly what happens in our texts this
morning, our Christmas anthem, a melody drives it forward.
The
first verses we encountered this morning come from the book of Isaiah, it’s the
text that Stephen Reeves read over us earlier in the service. Now in case you
have forgotten this takes place during the Syro-Ephraimite conflict of 734-733
BCE. And just in case you have forgotten the details of that conflict, King
Ahaz reigns in Jerusalem however there is opposition on the way. The kings of
Ephraim and King Aram have plans to invade Jerusalem and replace King Ahaz with
a puppet ruler who will do what they say, will support their coalition against
Assyria and further their states wealth and power.
Now
I know this is ancient history and it is quite difficult for us to think of a
world where another nation or state might try to deeply influence another
country’s position of power with a ruler who will essentially further their own
interest, to try to get someone in a place of power to only further their own
wealth and power. I know it’s hard to imagine, but I am going to ask you to do
that this morning. It would be a terrifying time.
Now
King Ahaz and all of Jerusalem are terrified about this coming invasion for
many reasons: 1) The other armies are bigger and stronger, so the invasion will
likely be successful 2) This will deeply impact their own survival, lives and
lands will be lost and 3) They truly believe that the very salvation of the
world depends on a descendant of King David sitting on the throne in Jerusalem
and this would end that. If conquered they will lose the three things that mean
the most: temple, land and king. So they are afraid because the world as they
know it is about to change.
And
it’s into that world that the prophet Isaiah speaks a bold truth, offering King
Ahaz and all of Jerusalem a sign of hope. It’s in the King’s time of deep fear
and uncertainty that the Lord sends words of divine protection and salvation:
“Look
at the young woman with child. She is going to have a son and she will name him
Immanuel. And by the time the child is 12 years old, he will know good and evil
and by then the threat of war will be over because these two kings you are
fretting over will be ancient history.”
And
this prophecy comes to pass. The land is not destroyed by these two kings and
Ahaz reigns longer, he reigns for almost two more decades and he has a
prominent role in the lineage of Jesus.
Do
you hear the melody this morning?
“Look
at the young woman pregnant with child. She is going to have a son and will
name him Immanuel”…. Immanuel, God with us…. It’s God’s very covenant to redeem
the world from the inside out. And to be honest, it’s so frustratingly
ambiguous however we are not asked to understand it, but to trust it… to
believe the promise that can sustain us: God is with us.
The
melody plays on.
Our
second Scripture this morning, the one that Deborah just read. Again this is a
text that takes place in dark days, in times of political upheaval, in times of
uncertainty, of exhaustion and fear. And not only is the world in a precarious position,
this text brings us into a family in a precarious position.
Mary
and Joseph are engaged and that means a bit more than it does in our world
where engagements are time periods of preparation and showers and selecting the
right color napkins for the table. Engagement here was the beginning of the
marriage, the covenant has already been made, but the couple is not yet living
together.
Mary
and Joseph are engaged and then Mary has to come to Joseph with news that is
not going to be good news: I am pregnant and the baby is not yours. So what is
Joseph to do? He knows what the law and traditions says but he can’t do that.
He loves Mary too much to disgrace her and shame her, so he plans to divorce
her quietly.
Until
one night in a dream an angel appears, it’s an angelic prophet. And the angel
comes to offer Joseph a sign of hope. It’s in his fears, in what he must view
as a betrayal, in his grief, in his inability to control things, it’s there the
Lord speaks to him and offers him a sign of divine protection and salvation.
“Look
at the young woman, pregnant with child, she will bear a Son and his name will
be Immanuel and he will save the whole world. So don’t be afraid. Don’t divorce
her or leave her, take her as your wife because you too have a role in this
story.”
It’s
the melody playing one more time: “Look at the young woman pregnant with child.
She is going to have a son and will name him Immanuel”…. Immanuel, God with
us…. It’s God’s very covenant to redeem the world from the inside out. And to
be honest, it’s so frustratingly ambiguous however we are not asked to
understand it, but to trust it… to believe the promise that can sustain us: God
is with us.
And
our third text this morning, we have not read it because we are currently
living it. This is the text that each of us bring into this sacred space, the
text of our very life, the story of God and you and the story of God and me.
It’s not written down yet because we are still in the story and it’s unfolding
around us.
And
this text has so many elements of the previous two texts. There are so many
parallels to be found because here in this space this morning there are those
who are scared and fearful, there are those who are uncertain as to what is
next, there are those who are dealing with betrayal, there are those who are in
grief over what has not come to pass and what has come to pass, there are those
wrestling with very real doubts, there are those of us struggling because we
can’t control things like we would like to control things, there is fear of
losing a place of privilege. We collectively bring all these elements here,
these are the narratives and the texts of our lives today.
And
I wonder this morning if what we need is to be quiet. If at the start of a week
that is going to be so full, so loud, so wonderfully joyous for some of us and
so difficult for others, if we need to start the week off in silence together,
to see if we could hear the prophet’s voice calling forth to each us of, to see
if we can hear the melody playing again.
You
see one of the things I walked away from the piano recital thinking about was
the melody of Silver Bells, those 8 bars . Because it’s all about that melody,
it does not matter what else you put around it- pedals, different rhythms,
eighth and sixteenth notes or even blending it into a bigger piece. It’s Silver
Bells because of the melody that we all know by heart.
There
is a lot of noise around us this year and some of it is good joyous noise and
some of it is distracting and negative noise- both are present. But I truly
believe if we listen, we will hear our Christmas melody playing once again:
“Look
at the young woman pregnant with child. She is going to have a son and will
name him Immanuel”…. Immanuel, God with us…. It’s God’s very covenant to redeem
the world from the inside out. And to be honest, it’s so frustratingly
ambiguous however we are not asked to understand it, but to trust it… to
believe the promise that can sustain us: God is with us.
It’s
the same melody God’s been playing for years and years and years.
And
thank God that King Ahaz was wise enough to let a prophet speak, to let someone
offer the words of the Lord instead of calling together his military advisors
and planning an attack that would have been doomed from the start. He fought
his gut reaction of preparing for battle and instead prayed. He did not call in
the world’s experts but instead called in a prophet. And then he trusted the
words of the prophet. He trusted the melody of God.
And
thank God that Joseph was brave enough to trust a dream, to let the words of
the Lord be born in his heart. Instead of calling in a divorce attorney and
beginning to set up his own future at his Mary’s expense, instead of
immediately going into action to save and redeem his own name. Instead he
rested and in that rest he prayed. And he received the word of the Lord and he
trusted it. He trusted the melody of God.
Can
we do the same thing today?
Can
we allow the words to be spoken over us: “Look at the young woman pregnant with
child. She is going to have a son and will name him Immanuel”…. Immanuel, God
with us…. It’s God’s very covenant to redeem the world from the inside out. And
to be honest, it’s so frustratingly ambiguous however we are not asked to understand
it, but to trust it… to believe the promise that can sustain us: God is with
us.
Because
I don’t think they have changed. The same message that God gave to Ahaz and
that God gave to Joseph, God is giving to us. Immanuel. God with us.
Ahaz
heard it. Ahaz believed it and his world was saved.
Joseph
heard it. Joseph believed it and our world was saved.
We
have heard it. The question is now: do we believe it and if we do, what is God
going to birth out of our belief?
I
am not sure but I have a hunch that is where peace and wholeness will be found
because that is the only place they can be found, in Immanuel. God with us.
Amen
and Amen.
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