EMMANUEL

EMMANUEL

(God with us)

Tradition holds that when Isaiah tells Ahaz that a son born to a virgin will be called Immanuel (Hebrew spelling) it is the foretelling of the birth of the Messiah. Regardless of what that means, we believe and know that God is truly with us.

It is the total meaning of Christmas - God is with us at last.

All Christians believe that God is with them, but I wonder why it is so hard to hold in the forefront of our lives at all times.  Surely God knows us well. He is completely aware of how easily we are distracted and swayed by outside influences.   So I ask myself, why does God choose to be invisible?  The perfect world of peace and harmony would have been a lot easier to achieve if God were visibly present, and yet he is not.

Jesus actually answers the question in Matthew 25:44 when he describes the final judgment.  “The King will say…’For I was hungry and you gave me food, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous asked ‘When did we do these things?’ and King replies, ‘When ever you did this for these, the least of my brothers, you did it for me.”

The answers are always there if we only look.  God is not invisible at all. God is in the face of the needy and the provider, the sick and the caregiver or the despairing and the provider of hope.  We are the human face of God.  How anyone feels about God comes from our relationships with other people.  It is easy to believe in and serve the Father if one’s father is good and kind, but if the experience is not good then it is up to others to provide the goodness and kindness in His name.

This kind of goodness is all around us.  Take Aleppo, for example.  On one hand, there are people who kill with no conscience at all, while on the other hand, there are people who work night and day to protect, rescue and relocate the innocent victims.

This seesaw that is life has always been going on and will continue forever until the Lord comes again.  We can’t wait for that day.  We have to be the face of the goodness of God all the time.  We are duty bound to make Emmanuel, God with us, visible to all.

Christmas Blessing on you all,

With deep affection,

Carol Lemelin OPA