Emmanuel

The prophet Isaiah gave us the four names of the Messiah we will contemplate during Advent (Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace [Is. 9:6]), but he also gave us one more than it is truly astounding in its simple proclamation of the totality of God’s grace—Isaiah also named the Messiah, “Emmanuel”—God with us (Is. 7:14). As we move closer to the celebration of Christ’s birth, spend some time with this messianic title.

God with us.

What a profound promise. God near at hand. God present in every moment. God sharing our existence. God walking through each day with us. God meeting each challenge we meet. God being in the valleys we encounter. God blessing each laugh of joy. 

Emmanuel.

God is in every breath, the mystics assure us. Being the source of life, God is present in each moment of life. God never leaves that which is living. God never abandons a soul crafted by God’s wisdom. Our spirits can run free because God frees them. Think on that with each exhalation.

But it goes far beyond that esoteric presence. Emmanuel means God is with us in the most mundane moments of our lives, too. God is right there while we do the laundry. God is present as stroll the grocery aisles. God is present as we get the kids their breakfast. God is right there in the strategy meeting at work. God occupies the room as we watch TV. God instills a certain holiness in the utterly ordinary. That is the whole point of Luke’s Gospel, and that message is carefully woven into his Nativity narrative. Everything in the story is meant to invoke the pure ordinariness of the whole event, from an over-crowded, stressed hometown with no room for its own to the shepherds engaged in their daily work of tending sheep, even at night—especially at night—to a weary, road-worn couple trying to rest after a long journey, even if it’s among the livestock in a sheltered pen. The Messiah, preaches Luke, is for the Least of These, so he is for everyone, and everyone includes all of us, each and every one of us.

And if God is in even these most banal of moments, then we can assuredly know that God is right there in the ER, that God draws near to the heart bursting with loneliness on a dark winter night, that God is there when each new life takes its first breath, or as a couple exchange the promises of a lifetime commitment. God infuses these sacred moments of our lives with God’s own purity, grace, compassion, and power.

However, there is an inescapable challenge in a messiah named Emmanuel—actually finding God with us.

Isaiah made this pronouncement in a moment of prophetic pique. God sent him to Ahaz to prevent Ahaz from making a huge mistake as monarch over Israel. Every ruler of Israel was to rule with one certain truth—they were simply the implement of God’s rule over God’s people—every royal word, edict, act, or display was to be made in complete self-emptying as God’s own will flowed through them to the people. Things were grim. The Assyrian army was massing in the north, and if they chose to move south, Israel was doomed—there was no way they could match that power. So, Ahaz began to look for an ally. He made noises about aligning himself with Pharaoh and Egypt, hoping to match imperial power with imperial power. God is furious. Does Ahaz no longer trust God to be God? Does Ahaz no longer believe God has all the power any human being might need? Isaiah voices this righteous fury at a fearful and doubtful Ahaz. Then, to hammer his point home, the prophet boldly declares a child is on the way—a child—who will stand down any and all threats to Israel. 

We should have sympathy for poor Ahaz. In moments of real and actual crisis, trusting an invisible God to see us through can seem a silly drawing at straws. God’s timing rarely matches our own—grace takes forever to unfold. Problems are simply too big. Fear is simply too great. Why not align with the big, strong bully to face the other bullies in the play yard? At least his power is real, actual, and tangible.

Yes, but completely without love.

If Ahaz goes with Egypt, then what? In all likelihood, Egypt simply swallows Israel. 

God never does that.

God is Emmanuel. God is a Messiah born to simple people, revealed to shepherds, who came to meet the Least of These in every nook and corner. God saves not to dominate; God saves to enliven. God brings to fullness those who trust in God. God feeds the hungry. God tends the weak. God does all to bring strength, wonder, and beauty again to each life.

But how to see it? How to know it?

Look to creation—it’s wonder, beauty, and miracle tell us of the love that is God. It provides for every need. It offers home to every living thing.

Look to one another—in each act of kindness, listening, and grace, there is God, working in and through us. 

Look to your own heart—when is it most full? Most of us will confess that we never feel more alive than we practice compassion and mercy. That is God in us. 

Emmanuel is everywhere, with everyone, all the time.