The Sign of Emmanuel

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel."  (Isaiah 7: 14)

King Ahaz had already decided to seek foreign against the coalition massed against Judah. The situation was not just critical but an emergency.  The prophet Isaiah appeared and told the King not to seek any foreign aid.  God had promised to help him.  For King Ahaz at this stage of the crisis, it was like a parent who had already decided that surgery was the last option for a critically sick child. If you are such a parent, what would you do if a prophet comes along to urge the surgery not to proceed because God will miraculously heal your child.  That was the situation of King Ahaz.

God realizing that Ahaz was in a difficult situation offered him an incentive to faith.

"Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz:
Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God; let it be deep as Sheol, or high as the sky!
But Ahaz answered, “I will not ask! I will not tempt the LORD!"  (Isaiah 7: 10 - 12)

King Ahaz refused to ask for a sign.  He had already made up his mind what to do. The Lord God was determined however to give one of the greatest signs in the Bible.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the young woman, pregnant and about to bear a son, shall name him Emmanuel."  (Isaiah 7: 14)

The Virgin Mary is a sign.

"And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”  (Luke 2: 12)

The Infant Jesus wrapped in a swaddling clothes is another sign that points to the life and work of this Child.

What sign do we have today that what we believe is true?  The Catholic Church is the sign. It is the sign of the presence of Jesus in the world.  There are four marks that point to this sign always and everywhere in the world:  The Church is one; the Church is holy; the Church apostolic; the Church universal.  These four marks have always been the means of recognizing the Catholic Church everywhere.