Ask for a sign from the LORD, your God;
let it be deep as the nether world, or high as the sky!
This time he wants us to ask. We do not ask from a place of doubt. Not to ask is to doubt in this case. If we don't ask for this sign it means we don't believe in its possibility.
God wants us to ask for this sign. The fullness of time is at hand. The day of salvation is at hand. This has literally been in the works since the garden. History itself is God preparing for the moment that is now at hand. Ask for the sign! Don't be disinterested! Don't be doubtful! We usually ask for the wrong sorts of signs. We ask for signs that prove our own projects and agendas. God gives signs to prove his projects, not ours. And this is the project of projects.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign:
the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall name him Emmanuel.
Salvation history is filled with people who desire to ascend the mountain of the LORD and ascend to his holy place. But none have been able to do so. None of us have the sinless hands and clean hearts we need. But now the one who can stand in the holy place is at hand. Once there he offers himself for us all.
He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption (cf. Heb. 9:12).
This is the full meaning God wants to convey. Emmanuel is coming. He brings salvation in his hand. Let us ask for the sign so that our hearts may be open to welcome him.
Let the Lord enter; he is the king of glory.
Preparation is so important that even Mary needs to have a question answered. Even though she is full of grace God wants her understanding to be more perfect before coming to her.
“How can this be,
since I have no relations with a man?”
This question does not proceed from doubt like when Zechariah asks something which sounds similar. She is consecrated to virginity. She doesn't see how what the angel says can come to true. Should she change her vows? She can't imagine that, either, and so she asks. She finds a ready answer.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
And she receives still further preparation. There is not only historical precedent for this but there is even a sign in her own family to which she can look.
And behold, Elizabeth, your relative,
has also conceived a son in her old age,
and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren;
for nothing will be impossible for God.”
She is already full of grace. But now her heart is prepared. She does not fear to ask for the sign she needs and it is given her. God wants to prove his project. And because she is full of grace this is all it takes and she is now ready to play her part.
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
May it be done to me according to your word.”
Then the angel departed from her.
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