Isaiah 7:10-14 / Luke 1:26-38
In the readings that we have just heard, there is one word that appeared rather frequently.
That word is "will" and in the context of the readings, that word is a sign of the future tense.
In the two readings, that word "will" appeared no less than ten times. And that word is used to indicate what will be happening in the future.
In the 1st reading when king Ahaz said, "I will not put the Lord to the test", he was not saying that he has faith in the Lord and hence there was no need to ask for a sign.
His meaning was that he has no need for a sign from the Lord as he had no faith in the Lord and hence he was not relying on God for any help in the troubles and dangers he was facing.
And so the prophet Isaiah spoke: The Lord Himself will give you a sign. It is this: the maiden is with child and will soon give birth birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel.
And so the prophet Isaiah prophesied what the Lord was going to do and that He will do it.
Similarly in the gospel, the angel Gabriel prophesied about who the Saviour is: He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule over the House of Jacob for ever and his reign will have no end.
Indeed the Lord will do things for us. He will reveal Himself to us, He will help us walk in His ways, He will save us from our sins, He will do what we think is impossible.
We only need to have the faith to believe that the Lord God will do all this for us. Let us pray for that faith and we will believe.