Homily for Sunday, Dec 23, 2007
Barbara Hayden to the Community of Christ

God spoke directly to King Ahaz: “Ask me for a sign, Ahaz” Then, perhaps seeing Ahaz’s reluctance, God went on to encourage him “Ask for anything you like, and make it as difficult as you want.” It’s hard to picture this, God speaking directly to King Ahaz and saying this kind of thing. It’s like he was pleading with King Ahaz to believe it was really him, God. Also, was God in a playful mood, willing to put on any Dog and Pony Show that Ahaz asked for?  Despite hearing it directly from God himself, the old king feared a trick of some kind, so he made a choice to refuse God’s request. This was a strange choice for Ahaz to make.

And then we have Joseph, who heard from God through an angelic messenger, sent to him while he slept. Maybe God realized that this sweet and kind young man would not be able to handle the face and voice of the almighty God, so he sent an angel. He placed one more layer of insulation to protect Joseph from shock:  the angel came to Joseph in a dream.

The story of Joseph is poignant. Here was a young man, in love and probably feeling on top of the world. Like all young men in love, he was no doubt making plans for a bright future with a sweet wife. Then, the shock of Mary’s apparent immorality came, which he was going to handle with as much gentleness as he could muster. He must have gone to sleep with a heavy heart, all his bright hopes and expectations broken. But then our good Joseph heard from God. The dream must have healed his broken heart: his sweet Mary had not been immoral at all but had been chosen by God to bear God’s own son.  Joseph did not second guess this dream: he did exactly as the angel told him to do. It was a choice that went against his upbringing and the social rules of his time. Joseph broke with convention rather than disobey God. This was a difficult choice for Joseph to make.

So let’s think about difficult choices. Many of you have made difficult choices, some absolutely life changing and heart breaking, some which have defied social convention and your upbringing. In our community, 2 prominent examples come to mind: Years ago, Dunstan made the wrenching decision to leave the monastery and Sally left her religious order. What courage it took them to defy the traditions of the Holy and (Capital C Catholic) and Apostolic Church when they did this!   Both have lived lives of richer service to God than they would have if they had stayed, but they did not know that at the time. At the time, they trembled in their boots. And neither had any direct help from God that I know of, nor of visiting angels in their sleep. Unless they didn’t tell us something, which I would not blame them for: today, if you tell people you saw God or an angel, you will be put on anti-psychotic meds pretty quick. Which is a shame.

So let’s look at getting direct help from God.  God gave Ahaz and Joseph a lot of help with their choices. Both Ahaz and Joseph knew what God wanted them to do.  It’s another thing to make a hard choice with no direct advice from God. We modern people do not seem to get as much direction from God as the people 2500 years ago did.  The bible is full of stories of God’s direct conversations with his people, or very convincing prophets bearing his message, or angels going everywhere giving messages. Makes me jealous of the ancients! How come God doesn’t talk to us face to face anymore? Why is that?  Is it because God knows we will be put on Thorazine if we tell anyone that we have had a vision?

Could it be that God has given us everything we need to make good decisions, that we should not need appearances by him, prophets, or angels to guide us?  Let’s think about the tools God has given us to guide our decisions. We have our bible, all the scholarship that is available on the bible, we have prayer and the sacraments, and I think we do have good modern day prophets and spiritual teachers around – you have to look for them because their messages are drowned out, but they are available. What else have we got that the ancients of the Old Testament did not have?

The answer is in Isaiah:  God was going to give humanity something new.  Instead of the fabulous sign Ahaz and his army would have preferred and the resonating military victories they thought would save them, God chose the opposite of all that: something full of vulnerability, trust and love. A tender baby, conceived not of human DNA but of God’s own. A defenseless birth scenario: God’s son was not going to be born a prince, in a warm palace. No: his son was born homeless, into a suspicious and unwelcoming political climate, to parents who had said “YES” to God, and “No” to the conventions of their society.

My belief, Brothers and Sisters, is that God does not need to speak from inside a burning bush, nor send prophets and angels.  Because God is with us. And his name is Immanuel.