A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
The Rev. Patricia Gillespie

Isaiah 35:1-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11
Psalm 146 or 146:4-9

"The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream." Angels are quite popular today. We see them everywhere. Or at least we see pictures of them everywhere. Most often, today's angels seem to be either plump babies with wings or some kind of cross between a grandmother and a social worker. But biblical angels are terrifying and awesome. An angel is an overwhelming presence and blinding light.

If those who bring signs from God are like that, it's no wonder that King Ahaz refuses to ask for a divine sign. Notice that the Lord gives him a sign anyway. Doesn't do much good to try to avoid God's message, does it?

Joseph didn't ask for a sign either. It seems all he did was go to sleep. And the message came in a dream.

We attend to our dreams today, too. Dream analysis books are common, though not as popular as angel books. But do we look for a sign from God there? Do we today expect that God would send a message, even an angel, to us -- to regular ordinary folk?

It makes some sense, I suppose, that God would send a message to a king, even a somewhat stubborn king like Ahaz. After all the Isaiah's prophecy was about a king. But it seems that God goes out of the way to send signs to regular folks too-- like an unknown country carpenter. Joseph is just a regular guy.

Even when the big event happens, and the son announced by the angel arrives, Joseph is practically invisible in nativity scenes amid the animals, shepherds, and other kings. But God, it seems, has chosen Joseph for visits from angels.

Even lowly shepherds get angel visits for this event. Of course the shepherds get "tidings of great joy," while for their signs, Mary and Joseph got a problem. Mary gets the news of a totally unexpected and unplanned pregnancy. And Joseph is told to marry his pregnant girlfriend knowing full well the baby isn't his.

Sometimes the sign from God doesn't seem like good news. Sometimes the message the angel brings is painful. And those times we often miss the message because we expect that God, being good, will only bring good news.

But Isaiah knows that the message isn't always good, just as he knows all too well that the people don't easily hear that kind of message. Isaiah's calling was to prophesy hard things to people that couldn't hear them. In fact the bottom line for the hard-to-hear message of most of the biblical prophets is something like, "Things are gonna get worse before it gets better." Sometimes the sign that God sends to tell us that God is with us is loss or disaster, suffering or war; disease or even death may be a sign.

So it's not for nothing that the first word out of most angel's mouths is "Don't be afraid." A message from God often means trouble. But again and again in the Bible, the trouble walks hand-in-hand with good news. After the exile we will return with rejoicing. An unplanned pregnancy results in a child for whom angels sing and shepherds rejoice. Even a cross, the sign of death, becomes a sign of life.

So think again. Have you been sent a sign of God's presence? It's probably not a prophet fresh from the desert knocking on your door. It may or may not be a dream, with or without angels. It could be a friend or an event or even a stray thought. It seems that God is very creative in sending messages.

But we have been promised that God will be with us, so there are liable to be signs of that presence even in the lives of regular folks. So what might be a sign for you? Where has your life been touched with fear? Look in that same place for signs of promise?

Joseph listened to the angel's disturbing message and found a miracle. The child was born, Emmanuel, God with us.

God is with us and the signs of God's presence are here too. Dreams and angels. Fear and hope and healing. Open your eyes and ears and hearts. "Ask a sign of the Lord your God." Isaiah writes. Let it be as deep as Sheol or as high as heaven."

"Lift up your heads, [look for a sign] and the King of Glory shall come in." "And you will receive a blessing from the Lord"