Imagine though, for a moment, if God asked you to change your plans: to not go where you want or not get what you want, but to do something else instead. How would you respond? Maybe you’d say, “That’s okay, no big deal! I’m flexible, God!” But what if he asked you not just to change your plans for Christmas, but for something much bigger: maybe to turn down that better paying job you’ve been offered, or to not buy that fancy car you’ve been saving for, or to not take that vacation you’ve been dreaming about? What if he said he didn’t want you to pursue that dream you’ve set your sights, and to let go of that goal you’ve had for years? What if he asked you to change the course of your whole life? Needless to say, those kinds of changes are a lot more difficult to accept. But implicit in accepting God’s will is the grace to trust in him a deeper way, if we accept it.
In today’s readings, we are presented with two stories of individuals who are asked to accept God’s will rather than their own, and their responses couldn’t be more different. In the first reading, we hear a conversation between Ahaz, the king of Judah, and the prophet Isaiah. Some background is helpful here. The kingdom of Judah is under threat from foreign forces and God wishes to assuage the fears of his people by reminding them of his protection; he speaks to Ahaz through Isaiah and tells him to ask for some sign to guarantee that the Lord will protect Ahaz and his kingdom. It appears that Ahaz acts piously, by saying he does not need a sign, but the context here is important. We know from both Scripture and history that Ahaz secretly planned to cut a deal with the invaders and so save his own reign. Ahaz rejects the Lord’s plans and the opportunity to trust in him; instead, he displays a false humility, which masks an inner pride and a focus on doing his own will, even though the Lord had asked differently.
Contrast that with the story we just heard in the Gospel. The story of the birth of Jesus is so well known to us that we sometimes forget how astonishing it is. Joseph, a carpenter and no doubt a practical man, nonetheless believes that the dream he had was in fact a message from God via an angel. Not only does he, a just and righteous man, accept a woman pregnant with child into his home, risking the whispers or outright scorn of his neighbors. No, indeed he is willing to completely change the course of his life and marriage in order to accept what God wished to do through him. Here is authentic trust in the Lord, and true humility, besides. Joseph is the antithesis of Ahaz – without any pious statements, or showy bravado, he accepts God’s will for his life, as startling and as disruptive as it no doubt was.
Rembrandt, Joseph's Dream (1646)
Why do our readings present us with this distinction between accepting or rejecting a divine change of plans, especially today, just a few days away now from Christmas? Because in order to comprehend the meaning of what we are preparing to celebrate, we have to first understand the essential role played by humble trust in the will of God. God’s desire to give all of humanity a sign of his love and faithfulness – to send his Son, Emmanuel, “God with us” – required our humble cooperation. It needed the daring of a woman who believed what the angel said to her and the courage of a man who provided her with a home in which to welcome the Christ child.
I mention this not only to remind us of how these things came about and of the profound debt of gratitude we owe to Mary and Joseph for changing their plans to accept God’s will. I mention it because it is how God deals with us as well, and invites us to trust in him. Whenever God asks us to change our plans, and accept something different that he has in mind, he also offers us the grace of humility to allow our will to be conformed to his. This grace invites us to cooperate with the purpose of God, even if we can’t fully understand it; it reassures us to believe that his purposes are greater than our designs. But this cooperative grace does not impose itself upon us, but perfects us from within, healing the brokenness of our nature so that we can act and move as we were intended to be, according to the plan of God.
Humility is a virtue that we may appreciate but think is difficult to acquire. Especially in a culture that values so much trying to achieve our own purposes and plans, it’s good for us to be reminded that God is not dissuaded by our shortsightedness or even by our faithlessness or ill intent, at times. Indeed, God did not let Ahaz’s scheming prevent him from still giving a sign, a promise later fulfilled by both divine action and human cooperation. God’s grace never is dissuaded or discouraged – instead it draws us ever onward to achieve what he wishes to give us.
Friends, as we draw very close now to the pinnacle of this holy season, let us be reminded again of the power of God’s grace and of how much our own humble trust is needed at times to let that grace become effective in our lives. Mary and Joseph had to change the course of their whole lives to accept God’s will, but by doing so they changed the course of history too, and allowed the Savior to be born into our world. If we look for where we too can trust in God’s purposes, in humility and in faith, then we also will make space for the Lord’s will and accept the plans he has for us.
May the Lord, who draws near to us now in the Sacrament of the Altar, prepare our hearts to accept in grace every good gift that he has in store for us.
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