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Immanuel

Isaiah 7:10–14; 8:10

Scripture: “. . . Isaiah said: ‘. . . [T]he Lord himself will give you [, King Ahaz,] a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel’” (Isa 7:14).

Reflection: The biblical text for today’s first reading on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord is chosen for two reasons. First, it is an annunciation by the prophet Isaiah. Second, this is the fulfillment quotation used by the author of Matthew’s Gospel (1:23) after Joseph is instructed to name Mary’s son Jesus. It is also alluded to in Luke’s narrative of the annunciation (1:27).

In context, the reader needs to know that King Ahaz of Judah is attacked by an alliance of other kings, including the King of Israel. The small southern kingdom of Judah was not going to be able to withstand the coalition of enemies. However, the LORD promises Ahaz that the Davidic dynasty will continue despite the alliance. The LORD invites King Ahaz to ask for a sign, any sign as “deep as Sheol or high as heaven” (7:11) that the prophetic word would be fulfilled. Ahaz, however, refuses because he is seeking military help from Assyria.

So, the prophet Isaiah announces that the sign will be “the young woman . . . with child [who] shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel” (7:14). What Isaiah announces is that King Ahaz’s wife will give him an heir so that the Davidic line will continue. In due time, Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, was born, and Assyria came to conquer Israel and make Judah a vassal.

The name Isaiah gives to the new king is the second in a series of names, each having a specific prophetic meaning. The birth of Ahaz’s son, Hezekiah, serves as the Lord’s sign of his presence with the king of Judah. The name means “God is with us” (8:10).

After Judah fell to the Babylonians in 587 BC and the Davidic monarchy came to an end, the name “Immanuel” was used in popular messianic expectation of a new king who, like David, would drive out the Roman occupation forces of Palestine and restore self-rule to the country once again. However, this never happened. So, in due time, the author of Matthew’s Gospel came to understand that Jesus was the new king who came to establish a kingdom that was not of this world. Thus, Matthew understands Jesus’ birth as fulfilling Isaiah’s promise of a sign to Ahaz.

Celebrating the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, which is never marked on a Sunday, gives us the opportunity to reflect upon our names as signs. If Immanuel is a sign of God’s presence to King Ahaz, in what capacity does our name serve as a sign of God’s presence to ourselves and others? For example, “Mark” means “brave,” and can serve as a sign of God’s bravery in the face of oppression. “David” and “Mary” mean “beloved,” referring to the relationship God established with both of them. “Jesus” means “Yahweh is salvation,” indicating that God was saving his people in the person of Jesus. Get a biblical dictionary or go online and find the meaning of your name and how it is a sign of God’s presence to you and to others.

Meditation: What does your name mean? How is it a sign of God’s presence to you and others?

Prayer: Ever-living God, you bestow signs of your presence upon your people to awaken them to your power to save. As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Annunciation of your Son, make us grateful for the salvation you bestowed on us through him who is named Jesus Christ. He lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

God’s Will

Hebrews 10:4–10

Scripture: “. . . [W]hen Christ came into the world, he said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me)” (Heb 10:5, 7).

Reflection: The author of Hebrews, a sermon illustrating the high priesthood of Jesus Christ, contrasts the offering of animal sacrifices with Christ’s obedient offering of himself to God. Using Psalm 40:6–8, which serves as today’s Responsorial Psalm, the author declares that God did not desire nor take pleasure in sacrifices and offerings. What God desires, according to Hebrews, is obedience to his will. Thus, Christ “abolishes the first in order to establish the second” covenant (10:9). Hebrews continues, “It is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (10:10). The obedience of Jesus to God all the way to his death on the cross is what God desires of us. In other words, Jesus is a model of faithfulness for us.

This passage from Hebrews is chosen as the second reading on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord because it contains the announcement of God’s will and it focuses on the result of Jesus doing that will, namely, the sanctification of all people through his death and resurrection. Because animals are not rational, they could not do God’s will; they became sacrifices offered to God by humans, but God took no pleasure in burnt offerings that could not take away sins. Because Jesus, a human being, was rational, he could do God’s will; he offered himself as a sacrifice to God, and God not only took pleasure in his self-offering, but God made that self-offering the means whereby sins were removed once for all.

All who follow Jesus walk in his footsteps of faithfulness; they do God’s will, which must be discerned through reading Scripture, through dialogue with others, through the help of a spiritual director. It is much easier to do our own wills. We decide our lifestyle, we choose our career, what place we live, what house we buy, etc. Faithfulness to God, however, often calls us to renounce our desires and offer ourselves in obedience to doing God’s will. In a culture saturated with ego, it is often hard to hear God’s announcements to us.

Meditation: What is God’s will for you? Have you been obediently faithful?

Prayer: O God, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for us so that we might do your will. Guide our discernment through the power of the Holy Spirit, and keep us faithful to the example of your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

Announcement

Luke 1:26–38

Scripture: “The angel [Gabriel] said to [Mary], ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus’” (Luke 1:30–31).

Reflection: This gospel passage is read multiple times during the liturgical year. It is most appropriate, however, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord—which is never celebrated on a Sunday—because it contains the angel Gabriel’s announcement of the conception and birth of Jesus, who is often referred to as “Lord” by the author of Luke’s Gospel.

“In the sixth month” of Elizabeth’s pregnancy “the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The Virgin’s name was Mary” (1:26–27). Luke understands Isaiah’s words to King Ahaz about the LORD giving Ahaz a sign—namely, that the young woman or virgin is with child and shall bear a son—to be fulfilled by Gabriel’s words to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus” (1:30–31).

Mary is God’s favored one, chosen for a special role. Gabriel explains that the child she will conceive “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David” (1:32). Luke makes several important points with Gabriel’s words to Mary. First, Isaiah’s “Immanuel”—God with us—will occur in Mary’s womb. Second, the everlasting covenant promised to David and his descendants becomes a kingdom having no end.

Echoing the “Immanuel” name, Luke narrates Gabriel’s answer to Mary’s question about how a virgin can conceive: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God” (1:35). In other words, Luke introduces one of his favorite themes here. That theme is that Jesus is a Spirit child. As such, he is filled with the Holy Spirit from his conception, and he will be “led by the Spirit” (4:1) throughout the rest of the gospel.

Luke imagines Mary as a new ark of the covenant. In the first ark, the tablets of the Law represented the presence of God with his people. That ark was often overshadowed by a cloud, which protected the Israelites from harm and from the brightness of God’s holiness. With her divine conception of God’s Son, Mary is a new ark, protected by God from harm and given the overwhelming grace of the Holy One’s favor.

Mary is given the sign that the reader already knows: “. . . Elizabeth in her old age has . . . conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren” (1:36). Luke, following in the footsteps of Isaiah, likes to give signs that verify the angel’s words. Isaiah, Luke’s favorite prophet, often gives signs that indicate that God will fulfill the words he inspires his prophet to speak to his people.

Once she understands the sign that indicates that “nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37), Mary accepts Gabriel’s annunciation, declaring, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (1:38). Luke quickly brings to an end this annunciation that parallels the one of Gabriel announcing to Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth will conceive in her old age and give birth to John the Baptist (1:5–25). Gabriel leaves the gospel never to reappear.

We receive announcements all the time. Most of our wedding announcements, graduation announcements, birth announcements, etc. come through ground mail or e-mail. Modern angels visit us in modern ways and deliver God’s words to us. A few words from a homily may spark our thoughts about something we need to do for our spiritual lives. A newspaper article may get us to write that check as a donation to a worthy cause that we have been putting off for a few weeks. An Internet story may urge us to seek more information about a religious topic about which we have always wondered. God sends announcements to us in many ways; we, like Mary, must be ready to receive them.

Meditation: What recent announcement have you received from God? What action did it spark you to take?

Prayer: Most High God, you sent your angel Gabriel to Mary of Nazareth to announce the conception and birth of your Son. Help us to hear your word in the Scriptures, in preachers and teachers, and in each other. Grant us the favor to respond through our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.