A Christmas Present
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23)
These simple words contain the promise of Christmas Past, joy for Christmas Present and hope for Christmas Future. It is perhaps easy to look at our world and become depressed when we see war, injustice, refugees, poverty, and to wonder where God is, if he truly cares for us. The words above feature in Matthew’s gospel but they come from a much older source – the prophet Isaiah who lived many hundreds of years before. Matthew was pointing out that a long held promise was being fulfilled at that first Christmas in Bethlehem, when a child would be born, whose name had special meaning. This wasn’t ‘God looking down on us’ but ‘God with us’. As Cambridge poet Malcolm Guite puts it,
‘He who clothed us in our need Lies naked in the straw That we might wrap him in our rags Whom once we fled in awe. The strongest comes in weakness now A stranger to our door The king forsakes his palaces And dwells amongst the poor.’
Precisely into a world such as ours, Jesus was born in poverty, he experienced the brutality of living in a country occupied by an invading foreign power – a modern equivalent might be Ukraine and Russia. He also became a refugee, his family fleeing those who sought to take his life. God in Christ knows what it’s like to be us. ‘God with us’ – a promise for each day, God wanting to be with us, through each day’s travail, wanting us to know him. ‘God with us’ also gives us hope for the future, whatever our situation, because the God we see in Christ Jesus taught us to ‘love one another’ – a reflection of the good he intends for all people, and the love he has for his world. We can trust Christ Jesus with our future because he always wants the best for us, always loves us. Sometimes we spend a lot of time looking in the wrong places for things. The best present this year is not to be found under a tree, or wrapped in colourful paper, but in the manger: ‘God with us’. Come and hear more at our Services this Christmas!
And if you’d like to find out more about ‘God with us’ , there is an opportunity in the New Year, over tea, delicious cake and conversation! We are running a short, 4 week course, starting Wednesday 7th January, 7pm at the Community Church in Andoversford. There is no charge, and all are welcome! Book in by contacting colnriver@btconnect.com.
With every blessing this Christmas
Rev’d Andrew Hiscox