Once time I briefly came into possession of one of those funny-shaped lamps that genies tend to inhabit. I don’t know much about genies except that they come from pre-Islamic Arabian legend, and for reasons that escape me they sometimes sit inside these lamps for ages until somebody comes along and rubs the lamp. And then they pop out and grant a wish, or maybe three wishes, or maybe if you’re in a 1960’s sitcom it’s a pretty girl genie who wants to get married and then you get lots of wishes.
Anyway I came across this lamp, and you can go right ahead and judge me if you want, but I gave that thing a good rub.
You can tell from my lack of a houseboat on Lake Como that it didn’t work. I also tried once pretending that airplanes in the night sky were like shooting stars... that didn’t work either. But in point of fact, from time to time there have been people who have found themselves in this remarkable position, with an all-powerful force saying “Make a wish.”
One such time is related here in Isaiah 7:10. The Lord spoke to Ahaz, King of Israel, and said, “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, from the depths of Sheol to the heights of Heaven.” So here’s Ahaz, facing that astounding opportunity. It’s a pretty amazing moment.
I wouldn’t blame you for feeling a little jealous. How many times have you asked God for things that didn’t happen? Leaving aside jokes about houseboats and the like, I mean the real heart-wishes that we beg from heaven. I know I’m not the only one here who feels like my life these last few months has been going to funerals. There was a week in December when I presided at or attended three, and there were three more that I should have been at and couldn’t be. Six in a single week that I should have been at. Beloved parishioners, brother priests, a teacher and mentor. And this Friday night, it was family. I know it’s been this way for many of you, too… and many of you have lost people who were everything to you. If God had asked me about it, Dan would still be here. Is that because my wishes for him were greater than God’s? No, it’s because they were less.
So you might be a little bitter to imagine Ahaz standing here being told, “Make a wish. Ask me for anything.” Especially if you know your Old Testament history. Because if there was ever anybody who didn’t deserve such an offer, it was this guy. 2 Kings 16:2-3… “Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites."
Well, how does Ahaz respond to this remarkable moment? He simply declines. He says, “I will not put the Lord God to the test.” At first blush that might sound sort of pious and humble… but it isn’t. It’s the opposite. And it’s not like he doesn’t have anything to wish for. His kingdom is under siege, his people are in mortal peril from the Aramites at this very moment. And here’s God, wanting to do something amazing for him, and he says “No thanks.”
Does God find this pious and humble? Listen to God’s response: “Listen, O house of David! Is it not enough for you to weary men, must you also weary God?” Powerful words, those. Our lack of ambition, our timidity, our false humility wearies God.
I think we get confused about ambition. For instance: think of somebody who’s totally driven to get ahead at work, trying to climb the corporate ladder or whatever, working 80-hour weeks while the children grow up as strangers. Willing to do anything for the next promotion, step on anyone. Desperate for advancement. We might look at that person and say he or she is too ambitious. But we’d be wrong: this person’s problem is far too little ambition. This person is settling for a goal that is tragically small.
Christians, I’ll bet there’s not a single person in here who hasn’t been guilty of this very same thing. How often do we get stuck in small dreams, small ambition, content with mediocrity? We think too small! We’re like addicts who miss out on everything beautiful in life because they’re entirely focused on something empty. What about other ambitions? What about someone who is willing to do anything for more power, more money, more fame? Is that too much ambition? No… for a soul made in the image and likeness of God and intended for eternal life in the Trinity, that ambition is tragically small.
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| Well, that de-escalated quickly. Artist: James Tissot |
I know of two other times when human beings have been given the opportunity that Ahaz threw away. Maybe there have been lots of times, but I know of two. The first was King Solomon, in 1 Kings 3:5, when God tells him “Ask me for whatever you wish.” Solomon is praised by God because his ambition matches God’s will for him. He’s after more than wealth or power or pleasure. Those things were too small for him. Remember what he asked for? Wisdom. Now that’s a big request. That’s a wish worthy of the opportunity. And God grants it, not because he didn’t ask for too much, but because he didn’t ask for too little. He didn’t ask for all the money in the world, or to be loved and adored by all, or to rule over all the kingdoms of the earth, or anything little and stupid like that. “Lord, give me Wisdom.”
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| He wrote well. Artist: Diego Velázquez |
The other time was St. Thomas Aquinas. He’d spent a lifetime of study and prayer. He wanted to know God, and to help others know God. He wanted to find the best ways to understand the truth and to say true things about God. He was one of the most incredible minds known to history, and also a Saint. And toward the end of his life Jesus came to him and said, “You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward will you have?”
And the Angelic Doctor said, “Only you, Lord.”
Wish granted.
King Ahaz was actually the (5x)great grandson of King Solomon. And Ahaz had a (15x)great grandson whose name was Joseph. And Joseph was betrothed to a girl named Mary. And Mary was pregnant. Whatever dreams Joseph had had for them were over. Put yourself in his place. Have you ever had a friend whose engagement ended this way? How shattering would that be? Talk about wishes not coming true…the future he had hoped for and worked for was in ruins. The woman he loved, she must have suddenly looked like a complete stranger, someone he didn’t know at all. Worse yet, she was in mortal danger. If exposed to the full force of the law, she would be stoned. Joseph was a righteous man, and not given to such bloody vengeance. He made up his mind. A quiet divorce, and he would try to salvage his ruined life.
It probably took Joseph a long time to get to sleep that night.
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| Rembrandt's Dream of Joseph |
When he did, he had a dream. And this dream was God’s dream. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home. It is by the Holy Spirit that she has conceived. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one is to save his people from their sins.” How’s that for a big dream?
I promise you, every person sitting here today, God’s dreams for you are just as amazing as his dream for Joseph. Whatever dreams you can cook up, they can never match what God wants for you, what God made you for. More than you could ever dream of, more than you could ever know even to ask for. God’s wish is to give you Himself. God means to give us Emmanuel. O Come, Emmanuel!
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