The Virgin Birth

That Jesus was conceived by a virgin mother without the agency of Joseph is clearly stated throughout this section, and is the basis for the introduction of the quotation in vv. 22–23. 

22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means “God is with us.”

In the text this not so much argued or even described, but assumed as a known fact. There may be an element of apologetic in Matthew’s stress on Joseph’s surprise, his abstention from intercourse, the angel’s explanation of Jesus’ divine origin, and the scriptural grounds for a virgin birth, due perhaps to an early form of the later Jewish charge that Jesus’ birth was illegitimate (see Brown, pp. 534–542). But the account reads primarily as if designed for a Christian readership, who wanted to know more precisely how Mary’s marriage to Joseph related to the miraculous conception of Jesus, and Christians who would find the same delight that Matthew himself found in tracing in this the detailed fulfillment of prophecy.

The suggestion that the virgin birth tradition is an imaginative creation by Matthew or his predecessors on the basis of Isaiah 7:14 is precluded not only by this assumption of it as a known fact in Matthew’s narrative, but also by its appearance in a completely different form in Luke 1:26–56; 2:5. Further, vv. 22–23, where Isaiah 7:14 is introduced, are clearly an explanatory addition to the narrative, which would flow smoothly from v. 21 to v. 24 without these verses, and not the inspiration for it. Suggestions that the tradition derives from pagan stories of gods having intercourse with women ignore both the quite different tone of such stories, and the impossibility of their being accepted in a Palestinian Jewish setting; yet the Gospel accounts are both intensely Jewish in their contents and expression.

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A New Testament Contex

The two previous posts did a “deep dive” into the first reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Isaiah 7:10-14) – “the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” –  as a means to provide the Old Testament background for Matthew’s use of the quote as fulfillment. Keep in mind that our passage follows immediately upon Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (1:1-17) – which notably says in v.9,  “Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.” Our gospel and Matthew’s genealogy are intentionally connected by Matthew.  Our translation in Mt 1:1 is  “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”  A more literal translation would be, “A book of the genesis of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham.” 

Matthew could have used other words for “genealogy” or “birth,” but he used this word, which is also the Greek title of the first book of scriptures. Similar wording is in the LXX at Gn 2:4 “This is the book of the genesis of heaven and earth;” and in 5:1 “This is the book of the genesis of human beings. In the day God made Adam, according to the image of God he made him.” Matthew intended a connection between these two sections of chapter 1 and with the first book of scriptures. This is a new beginning, a new creation.

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King Ahaz and the Prophet Isaiah

In the previous post we spent a good deal of time introducing King Ahaz – he was not the best of kings. That was being nice. He was awful. He was judged to be comparable in wickedness to all the wretched kings of Judah and Israel.  In this context it is easy to see why the prophet Isaiah views Ahaz as one who lacks faith and trust in God, and in this way the king becomes a symbol of the people of God, who in the face of the Assyrian threats are becoming a people who also lack faith and trust in God.  The king and the people depended upon the legacy of the Davidic dynasty as the sign of their “covenant” with God. Their ideology professed a sublime confidence God would protect his chosen king and city…no matter what. This can be seen in  Psalm 46:1–4:

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea . . . .
The Lord of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Such a profession is easily made when there is no immediate danger. Faced with an actual invasion, however, “the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind” (Isa 7:2).  

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O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Our gospel is the traditional reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent (year A) and thus, in addition to its biblical context, this reading also carries a seasonal meaning.

A Seasonal Context: The Fourth Sunday of Advent always tells part of the story that just precedes the birth of Christ. These familiar episodes set the stage for one of the Bible’s best-known passages, the story of Christmas. This reading, as well as the gospels for the 4th Sunday in Advent in the other years, aligns well with the readings of the seven days of Advent that immediately precede Christmas.  Not only do the readings for the daily Masses just before Christmas include the beginnings of the Gospel infancy narratives (Matthew 1 on Dec. 17-18; Luke 1 on Dec. 19-24), but we again get to hear the traditional “O Antiphons,” at Mass.

Most familiar these days from the popular hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” the “O Antiphons” are more than a thousand years old.  Curiously, the first verse of the familiar hymn is actually the last of the traditional “O Antiphons” while the other verses of the hymn (in the order printed in most hymnals) correspond to the Antiphons for Dec. 17 to 22:

Dec. 17: O Sapientia / O Wisdom from Evening Prayer 
Verse 2: O Come, Thou Wisdom, from on high from the popular hymn

Dec. 18: O Adonai / O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel
Verse 3: O Come, O Come, Thou Lord of might

Dec. 19: O Radix Jesse / O Flower of Jesse’s stem
Verse 4: O Come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem

Dec. 20: O Clavis David / O Key of David
Verse 5: O Come, Thou Key of David, come

Dec. 21: O Oriens / O Radiant Dawn
Verse 6: O Come, Thou Dayspring from on high

Dec. 22: O Rex Gentium / O King of all the nations
Verse 7: O Come, Desire of nations…

Dec. 23: O Emmanuel / O Emmanuel
Verse 1: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

The gospel readings for the 4th Sunday, the gospels for those weekday readings, and the “O Antiphons” all begin to answer the question of Advent: who is coming? Our gospel reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year A) provides it contribution to the larger answer: Jesus Christ (v.18), son of Mary (v.18), adopted son of Joseph (v20), son of David (v.20), named Jesus (v.21), the one who will save his people from their sins (v.21), and Emmanuel…God with us (v.22).

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Reflecting on the Visitation

What mother and father have not waited until the first “kick” of their child in the womb? It is a universal experience of anticipation fulfilled, spontaneous joy, wonderment and so much more. What was already quite “real” has become even more so. There is life in the womb! There were already layers of expectation and now how much more? This was true for Elizabeth and Mary, but they were also aware that their hopes and joys were simply gateways to release divine hope, joy, redemption and more upon a waiting world. All such moments are signs of God’s graciousness, blessedness, waiting on promise, and in the end, a sign of salvation’s approach. Continue reading

The Visitation

This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. Elizabeth’s joy at her own pregnancy after so many years of barrenness is overshadowed by the joy at Mary’s visit – or rather that the unborn Lord would honor her with his presence. How wonderful it would be if we had that same attitude concerning the presence of our Lord in our gathering together, and in the Word, and in the Supper: “Blessed be God who has come to us this day.” I think that too often we think of worship as our good deed of bringing ourselves to God, when, in fact, it is a time and place where God comes to us. Continue reading

The Holy Spirit

This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent and the story of the Visitation when Mary went from Nazareth to the hill country near Jerusalem to visit Elizabeth and her husband Zechariah, who for many years, had prayed to conceive and have a child. During the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel had informed Mary: “And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren.” (Luke 1:36) And so Mary sets out in haste to visit. Continue reading

Luke’s Narrative leading to the Nativity

This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. In previous posts we explored the background of the first reading from the Prophet Micah: “But you, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel” But before delving into our gospel text, it is good to recall the flow of Luke’s narrative: an interweaving of the stories of births of the herald of the Messiah, John the Baptist, and the Messiah, Jesus to tell a single story of redemption. Continue reading

Bethlehem and the Prophet Micah

This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday of Advent. In the previous post we explored how the village of Bethlehem was viewed in the time of Jesus’ birth. Today, we consider Bethlehem and the Prophet Micah, an eighth century BC figure (and a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah). Micah prophesied during the reign of Ahaz of whom 2 Chronicles 28 records: “He did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD as David his father had done” – and then recounts his many sins and transgressions. Micah shared his people’s disillusionment with the king but encouraged them to hope for a future, worthy messiah. Rather than tolerate the sins of the leaders the Word of the Lord came to Micah to announce that the messiah would end the corruption of the judicial system, idolatry in the Temple and inauthentic worship and establish righteousness for all. Continue reading

Closer to the Nativity

The Season of Advent offers us readings that begin with apocalyptic scenes of Jesus’ prediction of the coming destruction of the Temple and the signs of “end times.” It is a gospel taken from Holy Week and seemed a bit out of place in Advent. But one message of the readings was “pay attention” for the signs of a promised age to come. The Season of Advent is a season in preparation of the “three comings of Christ” – in history past with his birth in Bethlehem, in history future at his second coming, and in the present at our reception of Him into our hearts. The gospels for Advent have moved us from the promise of a Messiah to the herald’s ministry of announcing his arrival via John the Baptist in the readings from the 2nd and 3rd Sundays of Advent. We then come to the 4th Sunday of Advent in lectionary cycle C. Continue reading