That’s just it. That’s the real reason and hope for the season we’re in.
That’s the hope of all the days of the year that the Christ born in a manger may yet be born in us and save us from us.
Emmanuel. God with us. He has not left us and He never will.
“Suit yourself. The Lord will give you a proof-sign anyway: See, a young maiden will conceive. She will give birth to a son and name Him Immanuel,that is, “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14, The Voice).
Often lost in the barrage of commercials and glitz is the true meaning of Christmas. When Charlie Brown wailed in despair, “Can anybody tell me what Christmas is all about?” Linus responded by quoting the passage about the birth of Jesus found in Luke 2. That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.
Christmas is all about Immanuel, God with us. Not just for a season or even for a few years, but forever.
The miracle of Christmas extends beyond the Incarnation narrative, even beyond the death and resurrection. The miracle of Christmas is not so much that you can find room in your heart for Jesus, but that He can find room in His for you.
The miracle is that it’s never too late to start over. Even the most timid YES to Jesus will do. After all, all He’s looking for in you is a good place to start (to borrow a quote from my favorite pastor, Mike Glenn).
I believe this is week two of the Advent season, when we prepare our hearts anew to receive the Christ-child, fully confident that He never casts out anyone who comes to Him seeking Him in spirit and in truth.
I hope you will create time and space in this busy Christmas season to remember that it all started in a manger. That’s what it’s still all about.
“How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”
Today is December 23. As the old joke goes, the day before Christmas Eve is Christmas Adam, for obvious reasons. And no, I didn’t say it was a good joke or even a funny joke.
It’s hard to get in the Christmas spirit when you can’t even take a moment to breathe. For me, I’ve been working crazy hours and getting some very last minute shopping in. All those plans for having all my presents bought early and devoting more time to celebrating Advent went the way of the BetaMax and the HD-DVD. They didn’t last long.
But as Bill Murray’s character in the movie Scrooged asks, “It’s not too late, is it?”
No, I don’t think so.
It’s never too late to turn your eyes to the manger and see the child laying there. It’s not too late to come and kneel before the infant King with the Shepherds. It’s not too late to make room for Immanuel, God With Us.
Whether it’s December 23 or after a lifetime of missed Christmases, it’s never too late. Even if you’re older than 92, you can still become like a child and receive this gift, despite what The Christmas Song says.
That’s why I love Christmas. God the Infinite became an embryo to show that no place is too small for Him to come into and make a difference. As my pastor always says, all He needs is a place to start, the tiniest opening in the heart, the most hesitant of acceptances to begin the miracle of change.
If God can change a heart like mine, He can change yours. That is what Christmas is really all about, Charlie Brown.
Immanuel is God with us, in the flesh, walking alongside of us, sharing our burdens and joys and sorrows, even now. The Kingdom of God isn’t just some faraway pie-in-the-sky somewhere-over-the-rainbow place for when we die, it’s the presence of God in our midst at this very moment.
For when you’re at a party and you feel alone in the crowd, unnoticed and unwanted, Jesus is there with you.
For when you’re interested in someone and just realized that they aren’t the least bit interested in you in the same way (and probably never will be), Jesus knows what you’re feeling.
For when you feel like you’re not that high up on anybody’s priority list and they’d probably rather be hanging out with their cooler, artsier friends than you, Jesus chose you because he wanted you, not because you were all that was left. He picked you.
For when you’re in a season of trial and your friends seem to be growing more distant and less friendly, Jesus is still the friend who sticks closer than a brother. You realize that they’re too busy dealing with their own pain to fully notice yours and know the same Jesus who is with you in your pain is with them in theirs.
For when you have a story to tell but no one is listening and no one seems to want to hear it at all, Jesus, the one who wrote your story and knows it by heart, is listening.
For when you’ve come to the absolute end of your rope and have completely run out of hope, Jesus is right in front of you, saying “Just take one more step toward me. Just give me the tiniest bit of what’s left of your faith, and I’ll get you through.”
For when you can’t tell the lies and fears from reality, when you know what you’re thinking isn’t true or even sane but think it anyway, Jesus is still the Life, the Truth, and the Way. He’s still your life, your ultimate truth, and the way for you to get back home.
You’ll find one day that you can be in a group and not have to have the attention all the time.
You’ll find one day that when that someone you’re interested in finds their true love, you can sincerely rejoice for them.
You’ll find one day that the place God brings you to was worth all he brought you through and you’d go through all of it again to be at this amazing new place.
You’ll find one day that you can’t hear the lies anymore and the fears disappear as you grow in God’s love and learn to hear his still small voice speaking to you.
Even then, he is still Immanuel. God with us. God with me. God with you.
I love old churches.
There’s one I particularly love in downtown Franklin. It’s an old Espiscopal church that dates back prior to the Civil War, and every time I step inside I feel like I’ve been transported to a vanished age. One where life was a lot less fast-paced and complicated.
A sanctuary is a place of safety and peace. It’s also a place where God comes and takes up residence.
The Apostle Paul said that believers are the temple of God. That means that you and I are the place where God dwells, where people come to meet God and to find peace.
I love that.
In a world filled with violence and unrest, people are desperately searching for calm. Where there’s so much upheaval and turmoil and chaos, people are looking for rest.
We as believers should be that place of calm and rest. People should see our lives and be drawn to our light. They should see God in us and the difference he makes in the way we respond to the storms and turmoil in our own lives.
That means that when those storms come, we know that God isn’t vaguely out there somewhere beyond the clouds. He’s not trapped in a building with a steeple or locked away behind ornate church doors. He’s in us, with us, and for us.
We can know the peace of having the same Jesus who calmed the storms with a word of his mouth living in us. That same Jesus that overcame death and hell.
I’m thankful for sanctuary. I’m thankful that God has come to make his home in me and in all those who cling to Jesus as Lord and Savior. I know that means that I should be different than those around me, so they will be drawn to the God inside.
Lord, help me to love others as much as you loved me, and to show them the way to You the way you once showed me.
Amen.
Disclaimer: if you love your nativity scene and don’t want anybody messing with it, you might want to stop reading here. Just FYI. Otherwise, keep goin’. Fun times are ahead.
First of all, the wise men were not at the birth scene. According to Matthew, they didn’t arrive until Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were living in a house and Jesus was probably 2 years old. Already, your nativity scene is getting less crowded.
Also, there was no mean inn-keeper (sorry to burst your bubble, all of you whose dramatic career consisted of playing this one character in the church Christmas pageant). There was probably no inn, either. According to what I’ve learned, the Greek word used for inn in Luke 2 is probably better rendered as “guest room” and was most likely in back of the ancestral home where the family beast of burden would normally stay.
That means there weren’t animals at the birth scene. Again, not 100% for certain, but more than likely not. I don’t know if any little boy showed up and serenaded the Christ child with a drum solo, but it’s doubtful.
As far as the wise men are concerned, there’s no indication in Scripture that there were three of them. Just because there were three gifts doesn’t mean that there were three of them. And they may or may not have been named Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. For all we know, they could have been named Larry, Curly, and Moe.
The one thing that’s right about your nativity scene is that Jesus is there. The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us. God took on human skin and became Immanuel– “God with us.” The Almighty became an embryo and the Creator became a helpless infant boy.
So you can keep that part of your nativity scene. You can even add in snow if the spirit leads. But remember that Jesus was probably born in spring, not December, so there was likely no snow that night. I just burst yet another bubble of yours. You’re welcome.
Lord, the time approaches yet again when we celebrate your arrival in human skin to make your home among us as one of us. We celebrate that you became Immanuel, “God with us,” and took your place among us, sharing our joys and sorrows, weaknesses and pains.
We confess that we have so often lost sight of why we celebrate this day. We have made it into the giving and receiving of gifts and of excessive shopping and spending. We have forgotten that at the heart of Christmas, it is your birthday.
Help us also to remember those for whom Christmas isn’t such a happy time. So many mourn the loss of loved ones and live in the midst of family strife and turmoil. So many are facing tough days ahead as many are without jobs, some without homes and even the basic necessities.
Help us to walk along side those who are hurting in this Christmas season. May they find you, O God, to be their burden bearer, their refuge, their safe dwelling, and their peace in the midst of storms. Comfort them, bring healing to their strife, and be in the midst of them as the Prince of Peace.
Help us to remember those less fortunate than we and to be generous to those around us who have needs, both physical and spiritual. May we serve you by serving one of the least of these.
May we remember Christmas every day by being living incarnations of your presence everywhere we go, for you are not only God with us, but you are God in us, too. May we never forget that what started out in a manger ended on a cross, and that we are alive and free because of that terrible price you paid.
So as we get into the days of celebration and merriment, help us to remember that you are the reason for it all. May the best gift we give anyone be to show them your love and point them to you this holiday season.
I think maybe you and I can relate to Joseph (I mean the one from Genesis, not the one who married Mary, the mother of Jesus, although he’s a pretty cool dude, too).
He found himself in a fairly rotten situation. Sold into slavery by his own brothers. Ok, so he got a little cocky with the whole coat of many colors and maybe overshared with the whole “one day all of you will bow down to me” dreams. But he tried to do the right thing for the most part.
But I love the part where it says that God was with Joseph. That’s what stood out about him. Whether he was being sold in the slave market or running Potipher’s household or wasting away in a jail cell or ruling as one of Pharaoh’s top men, God was with him. It was obvious.
I love the fact that Joseph didn’t mess around when Potipher’s wife tried to seduce him. When “No” didn’t work, he got out of there. What really matters is that he didn’t wait until she made advances to decide how he would act. He was about pleasing God from the beginning. By the way, I picture Potipher’s wife looking like Anne Baxter from The Ten Commandments. Or maybe Angelina Jolie. Take your pick.
I also love the part where God’s favor was with Joseph. Not just when Joseph was in a good place or riding high on success. Even in a dark prison cell, God’s favor was with Joseph and God used Joseph to impact the lives of those around him.
I can relate to the fact that Joseph had a hard time forgiving his brothers. I would have, too. But in the end, he forgave them and took steps to reconcile with them. That’s the important part.
My takeaway from Joseph’s life is that God can uses you no matter where you are. Just because you’re not in a good place doesn’t mean God isn’t with you or working in and through you. In the end, your story is about more than just you. Just as God used Joseph to save an entire nation, so God may use you to impact the lives of people you may never meet.
I love the fact that you don’t have to be a perfect saint with a spotless past for God to use you. You just have to be willing and available wherever you are.
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