JOY AND SORROW

“An angel of the Lord appeared to [Joseph] in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’ So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’”  (Matthew 1:20-23 NKJV)

Grief is particularly difficult at Christmas, as the best memories can be the hardest ones. But the hope of Christmas is broad enough for joy and sorrow.

The strangeness and scandal of the season get easily lost in its familiar rituals. In Christian belief, the boundless, timeless God became, in J.B. Phillips’s phrase, one of those “crawling creatures of that floating ball.” …it is the central tenet of an enduring faith. Instead of setting out a philosophy to interpret the human drama, God joined it. He became “God with us” -- a God with a face. In the process, He both shared and dignified ordinary human life, with all its delight, boredom and suffering. The Christmas story revels in this blasphemous elevation of the ordinary -- a birth in second-rate accommodations under a cloud of illegitimacy.

The story is also shadowed by sorrow. In one of the odder moments of the narrative, a random stranger at the Jerusalem Temple predicts a mother’s grief. “A sword,” Simeon tells Mary, “shall pierce through your own soul also” (Luke 2:35). As it did. As it has for many mothers and fathers who have followed.

The point of Christmas is not a sentimental optimism about the human condition or even a teaching about the will of God. It is an assertion that God in Christ came to our rescue, and holds our hand, and becomes, at the worst moments, our brokenhearted brother. It is preposterous, unless it is true. And then it would be everything. 

-- Michael Gerson in “The Washington Post,” December 24, 2012

#6012

WHERE’S JESUS?

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”  (Matthew 1:23 NKJV)

When our daughter was a toddler, we made the mistake of putting our wooden Nativity set under the Christmas tree where she could easily reach it. One day I noticed that Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men were all looking lovingly down at an empty manger. Baby Jesus was missing! I started looking all over the house for the Messiah. The King of Kings was nowhere to be found.

I noticed our daughter’s little yellow Fisher Price school bus in the corner. Looking inside, I could see that the bus had the usual passengers -- the bald Fischer Price doctor, the construction worker with his little hardhat, a policeman, a mommy pushing a baby carriage, and the bus driver. They were all smiling in their places; but there in the third seat back was Baby Jesus with a big smile on His face, too. I was struck with the realization that my tiny child had solved the mystery of the Incarnation in her own special way. She seemed to know that Baby Jesus did not come to stay in a manger, but belonged on the bus, hanging out with all the people. Come to think of it, putting the Nativity set under the tree was not a mistake at all.

You want a great exercise for Advent? Take the baby Jesus out of your Nativity set, carry Him to work or school or the coffee shop with you today. People might be whispering about your apparent weirdness, but you will know the real secret. After all, that is where Jesus belongs -- God with us. 

-- Excerpted and adapted from “Come to the Manger” by Robert Kaylor

#6010

O COME, O COME EMMANUEL

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14 NIV)

The hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is a beautiful and haunting plea for the coming of the Messiah. The word "Emmanuel" means "God with us," and this hymn captures the deep longing of God's people for His presence. As we sing this hymn during Advent, we join in the ancient cry for deliverance and hope.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear." This longing cry of Israel is not just historical but also personal. We all experience times of loneliness, exile, and captivity in our lives. Advent is a time to acknowledge these feelings and to turn our hearts towards the hope of Christ's coming.

"O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of hell Thy people save, and give them victory o'er the grave." This verse speaks of the victory that Christ brings over sin and death. The "Rod of Jesse" refers to the lineage of David, from which Jesus comes. We are reminded of the power of Christ to save us from the deepest darkness and to give us eternal life.

"O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer our spirits by Thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight." Advent is a season of waiting for the light of Christ to break into the darkness of our world… of our lives. As we sing this verse, we invite Jesus to dispel the darkness within us and to bring His light and joy.

"O come, Thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery." The ultimate hope of Advent is the promise of eternal life with God. Jesus, the Key of David, opens the way to heaven for us. As we reflect on this verse, we are filled with the hope of our eternal home and the assurance of God's love in Christ.

As we journey through Advent, let the words of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" resonate in our hearts. Whether we sing this Advent carol in worship, or hear it while shopping in the mall, may these words remind us of our deep longing for God's presence and the hope we have in Christ. Let us prepare our hearts to receive Him with joy and anticipation. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources based on selected verses from “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

#6000

WE ARE NOT ALONE

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

God is with us!

This is the proclamation made visible to us in the brightness of Christmas Day.  We are radically accompanied.  There is nothing in human experience that is not touched and ultimately transfigured by divine life itself.  Matter is suffused with spirit. 

We are not alone. 

-- Wendy M. Wright in “The Vigil: Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ's Coming” (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 1992, used with permission)

#5254

ADVENT WAITING AND WATCHING

It turns out that the One who made us is also the One who cannot stand for us to be apart. And that One begins to whisper to the ones who will listen -- "I will come again, I will walk among you. Look for me in a child who is to come, born of a maiden." The ones who hear the whisper and believe it begin to whisper themselves, trying to describe as best they can what they hear and what is to come. They use words like "Messiah," "Immanuel," the "Rod of Jesse," and "Son of David," trying to speak of what they know can hardly be said. The collective repeating of the whisper grows in volume until it has become as the sound of a voice crying in the wilderness.

Those who have begun to wait and to watch can indeed do only that: wait and watch. They look for the signs of God among us and wait and hope and wonder if they have somehow misunderstood.

And now we wait along with them again. 

-- Robert Benson in “The Night of the Child” (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2001. Used with permission.) 

#5244

A SPECIAL PREPARATION

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14)

It was not suddenly and unannounced that Jesus came into the world. He came into a world that had been prepared for Him. The whole Old Testament is the story of a special preparation… Only when all was ready, only in the fullness of His time, did Jesus come.

-- Phillips Brooks in “The Consolations of God: Great Sermons of Phillips Brooks”


#4733

GOD WITH US

"All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a Child! She will give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')."  (Isaiah 7:14 NLT)

God comes to the woman who feels in exile in her own marriage, for the man who grieves the loss of life dreams.  God comes to the child who lives on the street, for the parents who struggle to feed and clothe their children. God comes to the one whose loneliness or depression intensifies every Christmas. ...

Emmanuel -- God-with-Us -- is coming to us, to meet us wherever we are -- happy or sad, joyous or grieving, God comes to stand with us, whatever our condition.  And we thank God for that promised gift of presence.

-- Beth A. Richardson in Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas  (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2005) Used with permission.

#3779

GOD WITH US

“All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”  (Isaiah 7:14)

The sign given to Ahaz was a mother who would give birth to a child named Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” Contemporary ears hear “Immanuel, God with us” so often this time of year that we forget its import. One should never assume that “God with us” means “God is on our side.” As the verses following verse 16 point out, “God with us” can mean “God coming with judgment as well as salvation.” The presence of the living and holy God is nothing to treat lightly. God’s holiness exposes our sin and disobedience. God’s light shines in our darkness and illuminates our frailty. God’s righteousness stands in stark contrast to our wickedness and rebellion.

-- Kevin Baker in Hail the Heaven Born


#3340

GOD WITH US

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" (which means 'God with us')."  (Matthew 1:23 NIV)

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: "God with us." We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!

-- John F. MacArthur, Jr.


#3336