Immanuel – God With Us- that is the proclamation in the first chapter of Matthew. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel which means God With Us.
As we gather to celebrate the season with family and friends may we be aware that Jesus is the way God chose to make himself known to us, to be “with us.” Jesus – the humble baby born in a humble setting to humble parents; angels appearing to unlikely humble shepherds.
I’ve been thinking about the idea of the Incarnation, God revealing Himself in the person of Jesus Christ. This foundation of our faith that Jesus is fully God and fully man is a hard concept to wrap our minds around. Since the beginning, people have had a hard time with the humanity of Jesus; Gnostics claiming he was only with us in Spirit. We often overlook the great depths to which God humbled Himself to be the God who is With Us. We often gloss over the humanity of Jesus, but Christmas brings it to the forefront in the humble baby, born just as you and I are born, from a mother’s womb in a physical body with fluids and blood and placentas. John said that “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.” 1 John 4:2-3. Jesus walked this earth with His very physical feet on the very ground that some of you have walked on if you’ve been to the Holy Land, the very ground that continues to be a source of strife and war and bloodshed for many.
This Christmas I’ve been looking at an image of a sculpture by Michaelangelo. It reminds me that the baby that was born also died a very physical death. His very human body suffered just as we suffer. Jesus takes our suffering into His own body. Our God, the one that we recognize this season in the marvel of His birth, had His eyes set towards the cross to bear our suffering, our pain, our brokenness, our bent ways of being. Jesus the author and perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, disregarding the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God – revealing His deity, His authority, and the completion of His work. (Hebrews 12:2)
I am in great awe and wonder this Christmas as I gaze on this image that my God suffered for me. In His very human body that was broken and died for me through the power of the Spirit, it was His joy to accomplish what only He could accomplish. This image makes His sacrifice more real to me - His love for me more real. And the beauty of Advent and Christmas and the Incarnation and the fulfillment of God’s desire to dwell “with us” is that He also rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father and is coming again – the next advent when all things on Heaven and Earth are made completely new. Jesus the root and descendent of David, the bright morning star says, “Come, let everyone who is thirsty, come.” Revelation 21:6
Lord, we are thirsty for you this Christmas. May we have a deeper awareness of the fullness of your Incarnation – that in your great desire to be “with us” you even took on flesh – that you are indeed Immanuel – God With Us.
Merry Christmas! We are grateful for our camp community!
With love from King’s Camp
Pieta, MICHELANGELO, 1498 – 1499. https://www.arthistoryproject.com/artists/michelangelo/pieta/
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