O Come O Come Emmanuel

Fourth Sunday of Advent Year A

What unites the first reading and the gospel is the prophecy first delivered to King Ahaz in the waning days of his rule and which the evangelist quotes in the gospel to show how the message delivered to St Joseph about the virginal conception of his betrothed, the Virgin Mary, is a fulfilment of that very same prophecy.

If you suffer from being overly pedantic like me, and if you have read both passages instead of just listening to it, you would realise that the spelling of the Hebrew title translated into English as “God with us,” is spelt differently in both the first reading taken from the Old Testament and the gospel passage which quotes the same. Both Immanuel and Emmanuel are correct spellings, as they are different transliterations of the same Hebrew word meaning "God with us". Immanuel is the direct transliteration from Hebrew, while Emmanuel is the transliteration of the Greek version of the name. The difference in spelling arises because the New Testament was originally written in Greek, which uses the spelling with an "E".

Now that we’ve covered that, let’s go to the substance of what the readings speak about. The context of the first reading is that Ahaz is feeling conflicted when contemplating his political future and the fate of his nation. Should he trust in a human solution to save his country from destruction threatened by a superpower by entering into a treaty with another superpower or should he just place his trust in God? Of course, the prophet Isaiah tells him to trust God and should he have any doubts, Ahaz could simply ask for a sign from God, which he refused initially out of false humility. But when Ahaz refused the sign, Isaiah told him that God insisted on giving him a sign that would be: “the maiden is with child and will soon give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel, a name which means “God-is-with-us.”’ Some have postulated that this prophecy is referring to Ahaz’s own son, Hezekiah, who proved to be a fairly good albeit imperfect king. But the deliberate ambivalence of the prophecy soon evolved into an expectation of a distant messianic royal heir that would prove to be Israel’s saviour.

While doubtless there was some contemporary fulfilment for Ahaz, the destruction of Jerusalem would be temporarily postponed, the actual fulfilment or “full-filment” would only come in Christ. Pope Benedict XVI calls this prophecy a “word in waiting.” The evangelist, in fact, appeals to this text in Isaiah to show that the birth of our Lord is what Israel had been waiting for through the centuries. In fact, this promise frames the entire gospel of St Matthew.

Some have asked why Jesus wasn’t named Emmanuel as clear proof of the fulfilment of the Isaian prophecy. An obvious reply is that Emmanuel is a title rather than a personal name just like “Christ,” which means the Anointed One or the Messiah. But, Emmanuel is not so much a name or a time as it is a message, “God is with us!” At the beginning of the gospel, Isaiah’s prophecy is invoked here in the infancy narratives and the same gospel closest with the great commission where our Lord promises: “Lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” What a joy, what a consolation to know that God is with us now and for all eternity, and that Christ has never left us.

Many a Christmas sermon will dwell on the meaning of Emmanuel, God-with-us, but if we are honest, most of us have known times when God, if there is a god, seems distant, unapproachable, not interested in us or our doings. If we are honest to admit it, many of us would have asked, ‘Where was God during this crisis or that?’ ‘Where was God when I lost my job and am now threatened with losing my home?’ ‘Where was God when my mom or dad died, or when I found out I had a terminal illness?’ St Joseph in today’s passage would have also wondered how he could end up marrying a woman, his betrothed, who was with child not sired by him. Had God abandoned him? These are legitimate questions, and the standard answer, that God was with us as we suffered, rarely convinces. We need a God not afar off but close at hand, and for many, God is not close at hand.

Perhaps instead of trying to answer the question ‘where was God?’ we have to explore the question ‘where is God?’ At first sight, that may seem like a mere play of tenses; but if we stop and think about it, it is anything but semantics. To ask where was God is to ask a question of history, to go back in time; to ask where *is* God is to pray and enter into a relationship with Him here and now. The first question is naturally narcissistic, seems to focus solely on me as the centre of the universe - me me me me! The second question shifts the focus away from ourselves to God. God has not withdrawn Himself from us or hidden Himself in some inexplicable way. He is tangibly though mysteriously present to all who trust and have faith in Him. And that surely, is what the Incarnation has brought about in a most wonderful way.

During his moment of doubt when he was contemplating divorcing his betrothed, the Angel visited Joseph and gave him this assurance. To paraphrase the angelic message: “Do not be afraid! God is with you! Not just literally but in reality! God is with you in that child. So, don’t just think of yourself and the shame which this may befall you but think of the glory of Israel and the salvation of the world which this child will bring. It is indeed a privilege for you to be part of this!”

Likewise, we cannot fear God or think Him unapproachable when we know that in Christ, He has taken human flesh and blood and been born, just as we are, just as dependent as we are. He cannot undo that — He has bound Himself to us for ever and is with us to the end of time. Whatever happens, however low we fall, however much distress or failure we experience, we know Him to be true to His name - Emmanuel. He is with us. God is with us …. Always! And this week, we will celebrate His birth in time. O Come O Come Emmanuel!