November 27thAdvent Prophecy: Invitations to Enter the Story
- by Zac Klassen
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." - Matthew 1:22-23
This scripture passage from Matthew is deeply familiar to Christians. Many also know that this passage draws on Isaiah 7:14: “Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Have you ever wondered about the identity of the young woman and her child in Isaiah’s passage? A brief look at the wider context of Isaiah 7 and 8 suggests that it is possible that she was Isaiah’s wife, referred to in 8:3 as “the Prophetess” who with Isaiah conceives a son named Maher-shalal-hash-baz (his name means “Spoil Swiftly, Ravage Rapidly”). Biblical scholar Wilda Gafney suggests that not only did the Prophetess and Isaiah conceive this child together, but they likely also had two other children, Shear-Jashub (whose name means “A Remnant Shall Return,” see Isa.7:3) and Immanuel (Isa. 7:14). Later, Isaiah says: See, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the LORD of hosts. (Isa. 8:18).
I think we are called instead to read the prophetic word
as an invitation to join the prophetic story.
I am struck by the ministry of Isaiah and the Prophetess and how they understood their children to serve as signs of hope and warnings, specifically to Judah’s King at the time, Ahaz. Ahaz was mulling over a big geopolitical decision. Should he trust in foreign military alliances for protection? Isaiah suggested he ask for a sign from God to help him decide what to do. The sign given to him was the child in the womb of the Prophetess, Immanuel. God was with Ahaz, suggested Isaiah (Isa. 6:7), so he shouldn’t act on his worst inclinations and fears (spoiler: he didn’t listen to Isaiah).
Will the choices we make in the ministries of our churches make us into
signs of God’s saving presence for others?
Isaiah and the Prophetess’ ministry helps me read the Advent text from Matthew 1 with new eyes. You might say Matthew sees Mary consenting to be the Mother of the Messiah as a fulfillment, not in a strictly predictive sense, but in the sense that she completely embodies and enacts the prophetic ministry of declaring God’s Word to her people. Jesus would be God fully with God’s people in a new time, bringing salvation and deliverance from the oppression experienced under the proud, the powerful, and the rich (Lk. 1:46-55). Popularly, Prophets are often thought to “predict the future,” but reading Isaiah and Matthew, I think we are called instead to read the prophetic word as an invitation to join the prophetic story. During Advent, the invitation of the prophets is to enter creatively, playfully, and provocatively into the story of the living God who acted yesterday, who acts today, and who will act tomorrow. And so, as we enter the Advent season, we are left with a question: will the choices we make in the ministries of our churches make us into signs of God’s saving presence for others? Will our actions fulfill the words of the prophets in imitation of Jesus? May we embody, in word and in deed, that “God is with us” this Advent.
- Zac Klassen is pastor at Bloomingdale Mennonite Church.