Merry Christmas!
December 24, 2025
Fr. John Riccardo
The Lord spoke to Ahaz saying, “Ask for a sign from the Lord, your God; let it be deep as the netherworld, 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 enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God? Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:10-14).
We are now hours away from celebrating the birth of the God-man, the Lord Jesus, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the one through whom and for whom all things were created, the conqueror of Sin and Death and the binder of the strong man who had enslaved our race ever since Eden. How are we approaching these holy days about to begin? What’s our disposition and attitude? Are we full of confident trust and hope, or are we perhaps in some other place? Personally, I keep mulling over the passage above from Isaiah that we heard last Sunday. As I do so, I keep hearing the Lord pose a very direct and challenging question to me.
At first glance, Ahaz, the King of Israel, appears to offer a pious and holy response when told to ask for a sign: “I will not tempt the Lord!” In reality, though, it’s anything but pious. It’s a dodge. Though it has the veneer of holiness, Ahaz won’t ask because he doesn’t think God will (or can) change the dire situation Israel finds itself in. Perhaps he had asked God for things in the past and hadn’t gotten what he wanted. Perhaps he had grown cynical. So, God challenges him through Isaiah: “Is it enough for you to weary people, must you also weary my God?” That doesn’t quite catch what God is saying to Ahaz. “Weary” could also be translated as “give up on” in the original Hebrew. This changes the meaning profoundly for me. God, through the prophet, says to Ahaz, “Is it enough for you to give up on people, will you also give up on God?”
Being disappointed is a constant in our lives. It happens in our families, in politics, in the Church, the medical profession, you name it. We often have giant expectations of people only to be let down. All of this can erode our trust. We can easily and all too often become cynical. About more or less everything. We can then easily project this onto God. He, too, is probably going to disappoint us, let us down, not come through. And here’s where the direct question from God comes in.
As I keep pondering this passage, and as we get ready to see the mangers in our Churches and our homes filled with the God-man, I hear the Lord saying to me, “Do you trust Me or have you given up on Me like so many others? Do you really think that after fulfilling the abundant prophecies in the Old Testament in unfathomable ways in the person of My Son that I won’t finish the job? Do you think I’m not still at work in this world, even if you can’t understand what I’m doing? You are never going to be able to understand My ways, for I am God and not man. Do you really think I don’t have a plan and a purpose for My creation? After going to the cross, rising from the dead, sending the Holy Spirit, transforming the world in so many ways by the power of the gospel being unleashed, do you think I’m out of ideas? Do you think I’ve grown tired, or bored with the project of My creation? I do not make promises I cannot or will not keep!”
Emmanuel doesn’t merely mean “God is with us,” as in “God is in our midst.” It means, “God is on our side.” He has come for us. Because for some unimaginable and unexplainable reason, the Creator of all that is is passionately in love with us! May the Holy Spirit overwhelm us anew in these holy days we are about to enter.
Merry Christmas!
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions
December 2025
For our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, that the Father would clothe him with courage and ardent charity, so that his shepherding may boldly lead the Church to the renewal and rescue God desires for His family in these days.
That as we close out the jubilee year of hope late this month, each of us will be ever more filled with this supernatural virtue, and be even more intentional about showing an anxious and watching world who God is and invite them into his family.
For our mission in the Diocese of Beaumont, TX, that our time with the presbyterate would be marked by the power of the Gospel, becoming an occasion of rescue, deep renewal, and lasting transformation for them and the people they shepherd.
For those who will join us from across the country for a Leadership Immersive, that the Father would rekindle in us His vision for the Church, restore our identity as His sons and daughters, and send us back into the world to continue His work of recreation.
For all prayer, planning, and preparation for The Jesus Conference: Mobilizing the Church for the World He Loves, that the Holy Spirit would lead, direct, and inspire every decision, so that this gathering becomes a catalyst for the rescue, renewal and transformation of the human family.
For Fr. John Riccardo, the ACTS XXIX missionaries, and our families, that this Advent and Christmas would overwhelm us anew with wonder at the rescue God has accomplished in Jesus, and that we may become radiant witnesses of hope to a weary and crying world.
For our Episcopal Advisory Council, Board of Directors, and faithful partners in mission, that this holy season would be for them a fresh encounter with Jesus the Rescuer - healing, strengthening, and anointing them for the bold mission entrusted to us in these glorious days.
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