Father Koch: God speaks to us in the most simplest of ways
December 14, 2022 at 10:57 p.m.
From ancient days people sought signs from their gods for any of a thousand reasons. We seek to know whether or not we are attuned to the will of God, and we seek the consolation that God is in our midst.
It is no different from us, and even those who prefer to think of themselves as “non-religious” do seek some sort of unity with the universe. It is very common that those who lose a dear loved one often seek -- and generally find -- some sign of their continued presence with them.
Sometimes this is the appearance of their favorite bird, a rainbow at the right moment, or a squirrel running up a tree. It doesn’t take much to satisfy that spiritual need.
Seeking signs from God work much the same way. Some signs are of our own imagination -- we want to see something, so we do. Often the signs we experience affirm what it was we wanted to hear in the first place. But there is much more to it than that.
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God indeed gives signs, but the signs are often not what we expect. In a homily he delivered at a daily Mass in October, 2014, Pope Francis, in reflecting on the obstinacy of the Pharisees states: "They forgot that God is the God of Law, but he is (also) the God of surprises.” it is the God of surprises that we encounter in the readings this Sunday, and that we experience so often in our daily lives.
Ahaz was unwilling to ask God for a sign even when prompted to do so. He was afraid, perhaps, not of the familiar, but of the unfamiliar. The promise of the birth of a child, an heir, who would prove to be a righteous and faithful king, would certainly have brought him joy, even if he didn’t live to see it happen in all of its fulfillment. Isaiah’s prophecy precedes the Birth of Jesus by some eight centuries. Yet the promise remained, and the gospel writers immediately saw the connection to Jesus.
No one can be more surprised by God than a virgin in Nazareth named Mary. While there are some pious reflections on Mary’s preparation for her role in salvation history, the evangelist seems to know nothing of them. Instead, St. Luke presents Mary as surprised and unprepared for the message from the angel. In her openness to the action of God in her life, a disposition flowing from her Immaculate Conception, Mary is nonetheless not quite expecting to hear what the angel announces. She is the young woman -- the virgin -- whom Isaiah meant in the prophecy to Ahaz. Mary was, likely, familiar with the prophecy, though like many of the Jews of her time, she likely saw the prophecy fulfilled in the birth of King Hezekiah. Now, Mary hears this prophecy anew, and experiences it in a deeper way.
She says “yes;” she has been disposed and prepared for a “yes” for her entire life to that point. She, though a virgin, will give Birth to a son -- but not just any son -- the Son of God.
While we see the birth of any child as a blessing, and a sign of God’s on-going covenant with the world he created. It is the birth of one singular child that stands as the greatest sign from God in all of history.
Many people today have a difficult time looking beyond the plaster infant in a Christmas manger scent to discover the living God. For many this is a quaint myth which has grown overtime well-beyond what was promised or what really happened.
The same challenge faced the early Church as well. How can a promise once fulfilled be fulfilled again? Does the claim that the promise being fulfilled now somehow negate the promise having already been fulfilled?
The “God of surprises” continues to surprise his people through new signs and wonders. Yet he does so within the continuity of what he has already done, taking us rather to deeper layers of meaning, drawing us ever closer to himself.
The Birth of Jesus is not just a sign -- he is the sign of God present with us. He is not just a fulfillment among many perhaps, of the prophecies of the Hebrew tradition, he is the fulfillment to which all others point.
Emmanuel -- God is with us -- is the totality of the promise complete in the Incarnation of the Son, which we celebrate again and anew next Sunday.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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From ancient days people sought signs from their gods for any of a thousand reasons. We seek to know whether or not we are attuned to the will of God, and we seek the consolation that God is in our midst.
It is no different from us, and even those who prefer to think of themselves as “non-religious” do seek some sort of unity with the universe. It is very common that those who lose a dear loved one often seek -- and generally find -- some sign of their continued presence with them.
Sometimes this is the appearance of their favorite bird, a rainbow at the right moment, or a squirrel running up a tree. It doesn’t take much to satisfy that spiritual need.
Seeking signs from God work much the same way. Some signs are of our own imagination -- we want to see something, so we do. Often the signs we experience affirm what it was we wanted to hear in the first place. But there is much more to it than that.
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God indeed gives signs, but the signs are often not what we expect. In a homily he delivered at a daily Mass in October, 2014, Pope Francis, in reflecting on the obstinacy of the Pharisees states: "They forgot that God is the God of Law, but he is (also) the God of surprises.” it is the God of surprises that we encounter in the readings this Sunday, and that we experience so often in our daily lives.
Ahaz was unwilling to ask God for a sign even when prompted to do so. He was afraid, perhaps, not of the familiar, but of the unfamiliar. The promise of the birth of a child, an heir, who would prove to be a righteous and faithful king, would certainly have brought him joy, even if he didn’t live to see it happen in all of its fulfillment. Isaiah’s prophecy precedes the Birth of Jesus by some eight centuries. Yet the promise remained, and the gospel writers immediately saw the connection to Jesus.
No one can be more surprised by God than a virgin in Nazareth named Mary. While there are some pious reflections on Mary’s preparation for her role in salvation history, the evangelist seems to know nothing of them. Instead, St. Luke presents Mary as surprised and unprepared for the message from the angel. In her openness to the action of God in her life, a disposition flowing from her Immaculate Conception, Mary is nonetheless not quite expecting to hear what the angel announces. She is the young woman -- the virgin -- whom Isaiah meant in the prophecy to Ahaz. Mary was, likely, familiar with the prophecy, though like many of the Jews of her time, she likely saw the prophecy fulfilled in the birth of King Hezekiah. Now, Mary hears this prophecy anew, and experiences it in a deeper way.
She says “yes;” she has been disposed and prepared for a “yes” for her entire life to that point. She, though a virgin, will give Birth to a son -- but not just any son -- the Son of God.
While we see the birth of any child as a blessing, and a sign of God’s on-going covenant with the world he created. It is the birth of one singular child that stands as the greatest sign from God in all of history.
Many people today have a difficult time looking beyond the plaster infant in a Christmas manger scent to discover the living God. For many this is a quaint myth which has grown overtime well-beyond what was promised or what really happened.
The same challenge faced the early Church as well. How can a promise once fulfilled be fulfilled again? Does the claim that the promise being fulfilled now somehow negate the promise having already been fulfilled?
The “God of surprises” continues to surprise his people through new signs and wonders. Yet he does so within the continuity of what he has already done, taking us rather to deeper layers of meaning, drawing us ever closer to himself.
The Birth of Jesus is not just a sign -- he is the sign of God present with us. He is not just a fulfillment among many perhaps, of the prophecies of the Hebrew tradition, he is the fulfillment to which all others point.
Emmanuel -- God is with us -- is the totality of the promise complete in the Incarnation of the Son, which we celebrate again and anew next Sunday.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.