God with Us
Good Morning Friends,
How do you think we should prepare as we enter the final week of Advent? NPR had a special program on Sperm Banks and the reality that more and more children conceived in this way are searching for their fathers. These children want to find someone that looks like them. I do not think NPR’s intent was spiritual or religious however genealogy is important in the Christmas story and when one thinks about it, a virgin can be artificially inseminated and give birth. Who knows, maybe God will use this to help some on the journey. But back to my question, and in exploring an answer, I would have to say that one way to prepare is to focus on the genealogy of Jesus and so show that God the Son, Jesus, comes to us through Mary and is a member of the human race as Immanuel…God with Us.
Scripture: This is the genealogy
of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Matthew 1:1 (NIV)
Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.”
Isaiah 7:10-16 (NRSV)
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.
Matthew 1:18-25 (NRSV)
He said to them, “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart.
Luke 2:49-51(NRSV)
Message: What’s in a name? Everything when the names are Jesus and Immanuel. These names have changed the lives of many throughout the last 2000 years, and hopefully they have changed you. But some have lost knowledge of the names of their heritage. They search for lost roots. Now misplacing things as we get older is a problem. Keys, glasses, identity items are lost every day by people. It can happen in our spiritual life too if we suppose we must find God is some far off experience. We must rediscover who we are and embrace our heritage as Mary did in her heart. Indeed this way is as close as our next step in spiritual obedience. In life we always want and even expect Jesus to be where we are. And indeed Jesus can be found in the midst of everyday relationships in familiar places, here and now in the common stuff made anything but common when the goodness of God is revealed in the marvelous possibilities lying latent in our undreamed possibilities. But if we have weak perception or wrong presumptions it will certainly lead to wasteful progress on our spiritual journey. We can misplace the Master even though He never misplaces us. In the busyness of life, in the hurry with the holiday crowd it is possible for us to take Him for granted. It is easy to get caught up and lose sight of Him in our lives. But don’t make the mistake of thinking it is all right for Him to be away from us. Don’t take Him for granted thinking we can do without Him for a while. Make Him the focal point and realize that without Jesus nothing else matters. Find the Savior in the Scriptures, the Teacher in the Temple, and Christ in Creation. Nothing can substitute for our relationship with Him. It is the most important thing. So we must set ourselves on guard so that we do not drift from this daily sustenance. And if we do realize we have misplaced Jesus in our life then it is time to retrace our footsteps and return to the place we left Him. Like bookends to Jesus’ life, he is born Immanuel God with us, and he leaves with a promise that he will always be with us. Read the Word.
Pray we realize that great fathers love unconditionally. Pray we understand that great fathers are sanctified to serve, willing to weep and washed in the waiting. Pray we realize we are made in our father’s image. Pray we experience God with us. Pray we not pass up Jesus in the Passover or lose Christ in the Christmas. Pray we rejoice when we recognize our life mirroring scripture and of Jesus’s life mirrored in scripture. Pray we not only reflect upon scripture but let this reflection bless others. Pray we rediscover Jesus each day. Pray we rejoice in the miracle of Mary and learn from her experience of God from the inside out.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 