King Ahaz and the tribe
of Judah were terrified about the possibility of being attacked, so they turned
to the Lord in their distress. The Lord directs Ahaz to
ask him for a sign to show that he is with them, but Ahaz responds that he will
not put the Lord to the test. Isaiah tells Ahaz that
as a sign, the Virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and that Son will
be called Emmanuel. The name Emmanuel means
“God is with us.” We see this prophecy
as being fulfilled in the birth of Christ.
How often do we try to
put the Lord to the test? How often do we ask for a sign from the Lord,
a very specific sign that meets our own needs, our own desires, our own selfish
whims. There may be a very
specific sign we are asking of the Lord, but that may not be the sign he is
wanting to send us. The season of Advent has
a lot of signs that are sent to us – the Advent wreath, the nativity scene, the
hymns we sing, the sacrament of reconciliation, the Word of God that speaks out
to us, and gestures of charity and generosity that people uptake. All of these signs are
helping us journey through Advent, helping us prepare for the birth of the Lord
into our world at Christmastime. How are we following the
signs, the devotions, and the rituals that the Lord is sending our way?
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