A Reflection for Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord
Find today’s readings here.
The LORD spoke to Ahaz, saying:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered,
‘I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!’
Then Isaiah said:
Listen, O house of David!
Is it not enough for you to weary people,
must you also weary my God?
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel,
which means ‘God is with us!’(Is 7:10-14, 8:10)
Do you ever feel like you don’t want to bother God with your problems?
I find myself thinking this a lot, particularly when I’m dealing with the mundane issues that plague everyone: making rent, buying groceries, figuring out my taxes. Not to mention the ever-increasing difficulty of juggling my work responsibilities, my social life and my hobbies. There are so many things that I worry about every day and, because they’re not huge problems in my life, I find that I don't want to “bother” God with these things.
After all, what do people usually pray for? A family member or friend who is sick. Big life decisions like getting into a good college or landing that job you applied for. The health and safety of people who are suffering around the world from war or famine or natural disasters. You know, the big stuff.
So it seemed to me that praying for something so granular as “I hope I can find time to both do well at work and to still have the time and energy to spend time with my loved ones” might seem like a low-priority ticket. But God doesn’t work that way, and I’d like to think he’d prefer it if we gave him all of ourselves and not just the so-called big stuff.
According to the first reading from the Book of Isaiah, this is not at all a sentiment exclusive to the modern age, as illustrated by Ahaz refusing to “tempt the Lord.”
A descendant of David, Ahaz was the 12th king of Judah and was dealing with a complex geopolitical situation involving an attack on the city of Jerusalem. Regardless of his dire situation, Ahaz did not want God to get involved, thinking—much like many of us do now—that this might be beneath him, to take a role in what is very much a material conflict.
But the prophet Isaiah chastises Ahaz, telling him “Is it not enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God?” Isaiah makes sure that Ahaz is aware that God is not pleased by the people’s refusal to pray for help and guidance. In other words, God wants us to ask for help; our lack of outreach is not making things any better for our lives, no matter how big or small our problems might be.
Isaiah makes the ultimate point by prophesying the birth of Christ: “The virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’” God is always with us, through the most important events in our lives and the smallest, most ordinary moments of our day-to-day. And we shouldn’t ever be afraid of asking him to help us out in both of these kinds of situations. After all, like any good parent, he appreciates it when his children take the time to reach out.
