Christmas Eve
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Luke 2:1-20 and John 1:1-18
Emmanuel – God with Us
Tonight, we celebrate something awe-inspiring, and wrapped up in a single word: “Emmanuel”.
Oh that we could grasp all that is expressed in this one word: Emmanuel, God with us.
God with us in fear
I remember sitting in an emergency room in France, with our little son covered with red spots, and my wife and I hardly able to speak the local language. We were feeling vulnerable and terrified for our child.
Here, in this awful waiting room. In this fear. In this moment that felt so far from any holiday season I'd ever imagined. God with us wasn't just a title for a manger scene. It was a promise for the hospital waiting room.
Emmanuel doesn't mean "God with us when Christmas feels magical" or "God with us when we're gathered around the tree with cocoa and carols." It means God with us in the hospital waiting rooms. God with us when we're worried, afraid, or lonely. God with us when the holiday we're experiencing looks nothing like the one we planned.
More than a theological concept
The incarnation isn't just a theological concept; it's God's radical response to human need. God could have sent instructions or blessings from a distance, but instead God chose to be with us. To enter into our actual lives with all our pain and chaos and disappointment.
The word "Emmanuel" is explicitly used by the Old Testament prophets because it describes not just what Jesus would do, but also describes who Jesus would be. His very presence, His very nature is "God with us." Every moment of His life on earth was a declaration: I am here. I am with you. I will not leave you alone.
A metaphor of Emmanuel
Yet, truly, most of our lives are not filled with magical moments – with angel choirs assuring us of God’s presence.
I remember hearing of one woman…Susan. Susan lost her sight as an adult – it broke her heart and the heart of her husband Mark.
Mark promised to help her through. But Susan became severely depressed…feeling helpless.
Inch by inch Mark tried to help her pull out of that pit of depression…to discover skills and confidence again. After many months, she began feeling confident enough to dare returning to work…with Mark’s help.
Mark would drive her, walk her into the office, make sure she was settled and then he would leave and report for his own duty as an officer in the military. This went on for a couple of weeks and Mark dreaded that he would someday have to tell Susan that this couldn’t continue forever…it was impossible for him to make it to his own work on time.
So, Mark researched bus routes and taught Susan everything, walking her through it to learn the paths, learn the stairs…and then he would go to the military base.
After a couple weeks of walking Susan through it, the Monday came when she had to take the bus alone. It was a very crowded bus…everyone looked at her with pity as she made her way down the isle, fumbled with her cane and settled in for the ride.
Tues, Wed., Thurs….she continued the routine… feeling alone and even abandoned by her husband.
On Friday morning as she boarded the bus the driver said, “Ma’am you sure are lucky. It must feel good to be cared for like you are!” Susan looked blankly at the bus driver. Then the driver explained, "Well, you know, every morning when I drop you off at your stop, as those doors open, I can see that man standing over there at the corner. He watches you. As soon as you step off the bus, his eyes are on you. I think he's some kind of military officer because of his uniform. And his eyes follow you as you walk across that parking lot. And his eyes don't leave you as you're trying to walk up those stairs. And when your hand touches that doorknob, his eyes are on you. Until you open that door and go inside, that man doesn't take his eyes off you. And once the door closes, he stands straight and tall, and he salutes you, and blows you a kiss."
Of course, that officer was Mark - who waited, watched over her every step…and actually empowered her by standing back. Susan felt only darkness…but Mark was there all the time empowering and loving her.
Christmas is a way of life
The message of Christmas is that God, Emmanuel, is with you all the time…watching and empowering you. Christmas isn’t just for tonight, or just for a season. Christmas is a way of life…a life lived knowing that God is with you. A life lived with hope of strength for today, wisdom for tomorrow, purpose for a lifetime, and peace for eternity BECAUSE of Emmanuel…God with you.
Emmanuel…is more devoted and powerful than you can even imagine. Seek him tonight in prayer, in Scripture, through sharing your questions with somone you know who loves Jesus. Emmanuel loves YOU – Even if you feel alone, in the dark, or abandoned. Even when you are riddled with doubt or despair. That One, is still with you …and the darkness will never overcome His light.
Will you pray with me?
Holy One, thank you for sending Your Son to be our Savior and Messiah, the one in whom troubles give way to great joy and peace. We invite your Spirit to make a home in our hearts and guide us in our lives. Increase in us a trust and faith in you, Emmanuel – that you are with us. Stir within us, Lord, to be part of the change that you desire in this world…the light in the darkness that began to shine when Jesus was born and laid in a manger.
Amen.
Pastor Doug Cox