An Old School Christmas with Isaiah
An Old School Christmas with Isaiah
Scripture: Isaiah 7:10-17
Christmas is about a baby; a sweet, sweet baby. It’s warm and cozy, there are sheep and shepherds and they don’t smell like they just came in from the field. The cattle are lowing, which is apparently a super chill moo. The manger is full of clean sheep, zen cows, and the animals are so helpful, they might just be boiling water for the midwife. The baby is born, probably in one easy push and wrapped in bands of cloths - a soothing cream. Mary and Jospeh look sweetly at this wee one, like he latched right away, nursed really well, yawned and winked at at his mom, and then slept though the night. Mary and Joseph do not look ravaged by hours of labor or even upset about the reservations at the inn, or the king that made them walk all that way. Everyone looks great and content and cozy, it’s perfect for Instagram, especially with the star overhead giving them a perpetual golden hour. Then…well dressed men show up with expensive gifts; it’s an influencers dream.
That’s the story.
That’s the story until you peel back even one layer. The truth is, this story is a revolution. It rages against the the powerful. It gives the big bird to the wealthy people and the powerful nations that exploit the poor. The truth is everyone in this story has radical courage.
The shepherds belong in the fields, they labor hard in dangerous conditions, people think they are as dumb as the animals they care for and yet they come to the center of town, to the center of the story to proclaim the good news. That is never their job, that job belongs to the Herald of the Emperor but here we are on Christmas with nobodies from no where proclaiming good news.
Then there are the magi, they are not kings contrary to what King James would have you think, they are nerds. They study the stars and culture and they see something on the horizon to be a part of and they just go, not only do they show up, they bring expensive gifts in an endeavor for peace.
Mary is pregnant and shouldn’t be, which has never, ever been okay. The world around her wants to kill her and shame her, but she looks back and says, “My Soul Magnifies the Lord.” I help you see God. She rejects their shame, “I am a blessing. I am not afraid of you. Please accept this middle finger and my blooming belly as a formal rejection to your shame party.”
And then there is Jospeh, sweet Jospeh. Mary is pregnant and she shouldn’t be and they live in a culture that has like an invisible ledger card of shame and honor. So he can reject her violently, he can dismiss her quietly, but going ahead and getting married isn’t an obvious choice because that balance of Mary’s baby shame doesn’t just go away. Then in a dream he hears the wisdom of the Prophet Isaiah and he does the unthinkable, he takes Mary as his wife and names the baby, which is ancient Mediterranean code…for “hey this baby is mine.” It is scandalous, and I imagine his Grandma fainted at the news and some self-righteous blow hard gave him side eye.
Each of them rage against the powerful and the status quo, they dare and risk and get dirty and messy and they labor, Mary quite literally! It is not easy, or perfect, but it is stunning, just like child birth. It makes sense that the Gospel of Matthew puts the prophet Isaiah in Jospeh’s dream. The words of Isaiah echo through the generations, they paint peace, resolve, and hope in the face of every reason to despair.
Some 800 years before Jospeh dreamed them, Isaiah spoke, “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Of course Isaiah isn’t really talking about Mary, he is speaking to King Ahaz in Jerusalem. Isaiah comes to Ahaz as he faces two major struggles, one foreign and one domestic. The domestic struggle is an age old tale, imagine if you can, the rich growing richer, large estates taking the place of family farms, neighbors becoming labor to exploit.
I know it’s tough to imagine powerful folks with all the wealth wanting more at the expense of their community…but that’s what is happening. The prophet speaks a word of repentance and remembering. A word reminding that when they walked out of bondage in Egypt there were to be a different kind of people, people who welcomed the stranger, cared for the widow and the orphan. They were to be the kind of people that lived justly. And as Isaiah would say, they are not.
The second problem, the one that involves the geo-political landscape of the day, is the threat from two small neighboring kingdoms and the looming threat of a larger one, like Assyria. The country King David unified has divided into two kingdoms, a norther kingdom - Israel and a southern kingdom - Judea. No matter how hard they try, the grandsons of Solomon can’t make Israel great again. To be fair, when David seized the moment; it was the perfect blend of charismatic leader and a regional power vacuum. King Ahaz faces a growing regional power, Assyria. Judea’s northern neighbors are feeling the threat already. And they want King Ahaz to join them in fighting back. Ahaz is a hard no, even though Israel is really sort of a cousin.
Of course the two petty kingdoms, Israel and Judea, respond in a petty way. They threaten to take Jerusalem, and maybe some other descended to David will be a more agreeable King - maybe some other cousin will be a little more collaborative….you get my hint.
And this is where Isaiah shows up. Big looming threat in Assyria and present threat from two smaller kingdoms. Isaiah shows up and says, “Don’t do it Ahaz. These kings are smoldering stumps” (hot but not a real danger).
Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smouldering stumps of firebrands, because of the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and the son of Remaliah. Because Aram—with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah—has plotted evil against you, saying, Let us go up against Judah and cut off Jerusalem and conquer it for ourselves and make the son of Tabeel king in it; therefore thus says the Lord God:
It shall not stand,
and it shall not come to pass.
(Isaiah 7:4-8)
Essentially, they will not succeed, and they will be decimated. But Isaiah is desperate to convince King Ahaz so he says, “ask God for a Sign, God will give you a sign."
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. (Isaiah 7:10-12)
King Ahaz responds but doesn’t want to hear…he says no in the most pious way he can, “Oh no I wouldn’t put God to the test”. But God is over it - She is like, “Listen up, I’m telling you to stop making decisions out of fear."
Then Isaiah said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. (Isaiah 7: 13-16)
There is a baby and this baby is a promise of presence. There is a woman with child, not a virgin like Matthew translates the Hebrew (that is a mistranslation from Hebrew to Greek that we have made the gospel truth). This woman is likely the Kings own wife and the baby is his own son. It’s not about Jesus or a magical conception, and it wasn’t written so that 700 years later everyone would obsess over a Virgin Birth and start monogramming all of Mary’s tunics with VBM for 2000 years to follow. Births are special symbols in many cultures, but the idea of a virgin birth is more Greek than Hebrew, Isaiah is speaking about a baby and that baby is a sign of God, as is.
Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.
Look, before this baby is two, those threats will be gone. By the time this baby is weened, there will be curds and honey. This may not mean much to us but this food is a symbol of peace and abundance. When armies surround your calls to starve you out, you can’t get curds and honey. This baby is a promise and a sign of God with us. God’s presence is symbolized in a baby. A normal, everyday extraordinary baby. Isaiah doesn’t say God is with us, He made us a state of the Art weapons system and you are going to love it. Isaiah doesn’t say, God is with us and She filled your temple treasury with Gold, a lot of gold. Isaiah doesn’t say, God is with us, They are pulling out the lighting bolts and ready to smote some bad boys, just point at anyone that is bothering you sweetheart.
God is with us in a baby that you have to love, and nurture, and take care off; a vulnerable little baby which requires a village, not power, not might, not wealth, not marble. A Baby.
Isaiah begs the King, “Do not fear.” “Fear not” is the central ask when ever God shows up. It makes sense that Isaiah is the most studied and quoted prophet, both in Judaism and Christianity. It makes sense that Jospeh’s dreams echo with Isaiah’s promise of a baby. It makes sense that the Early Christians who have every reason to despair hold onto his words. Isaiah speaks words of promise to a world of war and domination and violence. He paints pictures the wolf and the lamb, the calf and the lion all laying down together (Isaiah 11:6). He isn’t suggesting we open all the doors at the zoo, it's not literal. It’s the predator nations and the powerful people so utterly changed that the predator and prey are at peace together, they take rest together, they take comfort in the warmth of one another.
It makes sense that Jesus echos Isaiah when he tells Peter to put down his sword (Matthew 26:52, Luke 22:5, John 18:11). Isaiah paints a picture of all the nations streaming to a just Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3-4). Everyone comes, they don’t have to convert, there is no mass circumcision at the gate, everyone comes to be a part of the God’s wisdom and justice, just as they are. Everyone comes by choice, seeking this new way of justice and they don’t have to study war anymore. All the weapons, the swords and spears become plowshares and pruning hooks. All the investment in war and violence and domination shifts to bringing abundance out of the land, tools to tend the orchard and the field. Think of a garden, how much life comes when it is time to harvest.
It makes sense that Jesus invites everyone to feast in the face of fear, it makes sense that he lived out the promise of God on the hillside with thousands and at the table with friends. Isaiah offers the image of the world transformed, and it doesn’t happen in a violent end time but a big table (Isaiah 25:6-9). She sets the table with the best wine and the fattiest food, everyone is invited, and just before the dinner bell rings, God swallows up death.
Isaiah offers the most powerful signs and each one of them are an invitation to follow love over fear, hope over despair, and courage in the face of power. Mary and Joseph choose hope over fear. The shepherds heed the call, “Do not be afraid and they proclaim good news.” The question of Christmas is, do we?
Ahaz heard the call but didn’t listen. He probably heard God was showing up as a baby, and he was hoping for the gold or the weapons or wouldn’t have minded if God smote his cousin in Israel. From the Book of Kings we know the rest of the story, he sends money and offers himself as the servant of the Assyrians. He is the mouse who asked the cat for protection from two other mice. He made his choice and he made it with his fear front and center and he names another king his master, not God.
Choosing a different way is hard and messy. Choosing out of love and setting fears aside, is almost impossible but Christmas reminds us, it has been done. And we are called to do it again and again.
May it be so.
Amen.