1 God is With Us
We may be well into the New Year but the themes of Christmas are still buzzing in my head. Maybe it's because I've had to speak at Overslade twice, just before Christmas and at Epiphany. These four words, God is with us, have caught me more this year than others I can remember.
You know the starting point! We hear again the voice of the angel of the Lord that Joseph encountered in his dream:
"All this took place to fulfil what the Lord had said through the prophet: 'the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' [which means God with us]."
Matthew 1.22,23 [NIV]
The quote is from the poet Isaiah [7:14] who says that this is a 'sign' to the House of David for those who not only try the patience of human beings, but of God also! In the end the people of Judah went into exile at the hand of the Assyrians.
Their idolatrous behaviour, ignoring their covenant with God, was the cause. Incredibly, this was God's way, eventually, of convincing them that He was 'with them'.
Throughout the story of Israel in the Old Testament we can see that this theme was central to the way God saw his creation. The creation stories in Genesis make the same point. God's purpose and intention in creation is to provide a 'place' of relationship where his longing to be with his creatures can be fulfilled.
This longing finds its centre in the birth of Jesus, the man who is God and King. The gifts delivered by the magi pinpoint this understanding of Jesus: gold to honour a king, incense to worship God and myrrh for human burial.
Our thoughts this week will revolve around 'God is with us', so join me in this prayer, if you wish.
'Lord God, help me reflect on the significance of your being 'with us', personally, as church and as families, communities and societies. Amen.'
Richard Farnell
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