Emmanuel, God with us
Lily Cathcart
December 03, 2024
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Matthew 1: 22-23 (NRSVA)
22 All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel’,which means, ‘God is with us.’
Did Jesus have to be born to an ordinary woman? A woman who was almost rejected by those who loved her in order to bring him into the world, a woman who had to travel wearily on foot and by donkey. Did Jesus have to be born to a place oppressed and a situation so dangerous his parents had to run and hide?
God could have chosen for Jesus to be born into royalty or riches, Jesus could have been clothed in purple from the moment he was born and never have known hunger or childhood hardship.
God had that power, God had that choice.
But the more I see of Jesus’ life and ministry as he grew and taught, the more I feel that it could never have been another way.
Jesus was born to be Emmanuel: God with us. To experience the everyday with us and by his friendships and choices it seemed he delighted in doing just that. Jesus was born to come alongside the people who made purple dye, to be with those who toiled, he did not come to earth to be the one wearing it.
Prayer:
Dear God here with us
Thank you that you came to be with us
Thank you that you love us all no matter what
Please help us to hold the rich and powerful to account
Please help us to be community to those in need
Amen
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