Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Advent
As we celebrate the fourth week of Advent, tomorrow’s readings directly call us to put our focus on the coming of Christ and the sign Jesus’ birth is for our relationship with God. In the first reading, from the Prophet Isaiah, we hear the story we head on Sunday, of Ahaz being tempted to ask God for whatever his hear desires. Instead he recognizes that he does not need to bother God with his pithy requests, especially as Isaiah reminds him of the coming of Christ and the sign that is for those in the house of David of God’s covenant with Israel. That dynamic is only reinforced by the annunciation story from Luke, which serves as today’s Gospel reading.
When I heard this first reading last Sunday, I was struck by Ahaz’s response to his temptation to belabor God with a request for a sign. I thought about the many times in my life where I give into the temptation to pray for a sign – completely overlooking all that I’ve been blessed with already. When things seem too stressful, or unclear, or just downright awful I feel most prone to cry out to God in prayer and ask for a sign of God’s love. When in fact, the sign has already been given in the life of Christ. And, to take it one step further, perhaps the sign exists within the challenge of each situation because of the fact that we believe in a God who not only loves us but also walks with us in all that life throws our way.
In this fourth week of Advent, are there ways that you may have lost sight of God’s love for you? Are there challenges or dynamics of your life that are currently leading you to pray for a sign? How might you look to the birth and life of Christ to remind yourself of that sign so you can walk with God more fully in what life has thrown your way?
- Mike Bennett