The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel, which means “God is with us”. Isaiah 7:14 NLT
Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful names of Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. I never cease to marvel as I draw near to the astonishing reality of a God who did not ask us to “become divine,” knowing our inability to do so, but instead chose to become human.
This is the God who comes to sit at our tables, the God who did not hesitate to leave glory behind in order to walk upon our dusty paths. He chose to feel cold and scorching heat, to experience hunger, the gentle strangeness of tickling, and the comforting warmth of a good embrace.
This is the God who taught us with His life that the wide path is hatred, and that true excellence is found in love.
All the other gods are angry. They seek to punish, condemn, kill, display their power and glory at the expense of human beings, to subordinate and enslave. But our God came to love us, to form covenant with us. He assumed the fragility of humanity and explained the kingdom using our very own words.
The Word became flesh: muscles, bones, and a human heart. He came to love us, and we received Him among the manure of cows, sheep, and donkeys. Today we still receive Him among manure, but now it is our own: the waste of unrestrained consumerism, the kind that fuels inequality and hunger while we destroy the earth. It is the enrichment built on the back of our neighbor, revealing our allegiance to the prince of this world.
Yet today we celebrate the birth of our Jesus, our Emmanuel, God with us, who through His life taught us that we can be free if we walk in the freedom He Himself has given. He revealed to us the Father we did not know, and He gave Himself, offered Himself, and reconciled us.
We have many reasons to celebrate. And although some try not to see them, insisting on condemning our joy and celebration, it is paradoxical that it was pagan tradition that led the world to mark this day for the birth of our God, instead of us having done so first out of gratitude.
Whoever finds no reason to celebrate this birth has not grasped the meaning of humbling oneself, of moving from the condition of God to that of a human being.
While it is true that Jesus was very likely not born on December 25, and that Scripture gives no mandate to celebrate His birth, it is also true that we claim the words of the psalmist: “Before the gods I will sing your praise.”
While the world idolizes excessive buying, debt, selfishness, envy, resentment, and even hatred during this season, we will take the opportunity to proclaim hope, love, and the God who is with us.
We will celebrate that He has given us life, and we will use that life to give it to others.
Merry Christmas!
Warmly,
Rev. David A Gaitan
