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LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER 2, 2007
THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT

"GOD WITH US!"
A COMMUNION MEDITATION BY
PASTOR DAVE RING
Matthew 1:18-23

GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT: 18This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 20But after he had considered 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 home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-which means, "God with us."

MESSAGE: "God with us!" Can you imagine what it was like for Mary and Joseph, simple peasant Jews of 2,000 years ago? Can you fathom how they felt - to be informed that, in their soon to be born infant son, Almighty God would actually be present with them?

I'm reasonably sure, from the other scriptures written about these earthly parents of Jesus, that they had very little idea of what "God with us" really meant. Assuming that Joseph, at least, was minimally schooled in the Hebrew scriptures, they realized that, in even more ancient times, God had been with certain of their ancestors. He had been with Abraham and with Jacob, with Moses and with Elijah, and with a few others from among their most noteworthy forebears. But it had been many, many generations - centuries, even - since God had been "with" anyone.

Certainly, being practicing Jews, they believed that God existed - somewhere, somehow. They probably prayed to him, occasionally or even regularly, for guidance and help. But theirs was a relationship of distance - and formality. The very idea that God might actually come down and be with a human being was beyond their comprehension. Yet God was preparing to bless Mary and Joseph in ways that he had never before blessed anyone. God was planning to dwell with them in a relationship of intimacy never dreamed of by any human being. "God with us."

The scriptures tell us further that Mary and her other children - fours sons and at least two daughters - lived with Jesus in the close-knit ties of a human family for as long as 30 years. But never in all that time did they come to fully realize that God was really with them. We don't know what happened to Joseph, but it's very clear that Mary and the rest of the family thought Jesus a bit unusual as a person, but no more "godly" than any of themselves. It was only after his death and resurrection that they became believers in him.

God with us. What does it mean to have, in Jesus Christ, God with humanity on earth? What does it mean that, according to Jesus' statement in John 14, God is still with us today in the form of the Holy Spirit?

Perhaps the relationship which Mary and the others of his earthly family experienced with Jesus can provide a thought-provoking answer to this question. Jesus' earthly family accepted his presence as a normal part of their lives - so normal, in fact, that they forgot his true identity. Even though there had been angelic announcements, shepherd worshippers, wise men bringing gifts, and all sorts of extraordinary experiences for Mary and Joseph early in Jesus' life, living with God, became, in the long run, a normal kind of existence for that family.

We certainly don't want to repeat their error in forgetting who Jesus really was. But an important insight which I believe can be gleaned from their experience of living for 30 years with Jesus is this: Having God with us is not a strange, exceptional, unnatural experience. When God is with someone, that person doesn't necessarily glow with a halo, nor walk on burning coals, nor fly like Superman. Since the time of Jesus' coming to earth, "God with us" is intended, by God, to be the normal, everyday experience of every human.

Using the Old Testament terminology of the Jews as God's peculiar, chosen people, I've often heard it said that Christians are, likewise, peculiar people. I've even said such a time or two myself. But I'm in the process of changing my thinking on this. As I'm coming to better understand the New Testament, I'm starting to believe that those who insist upon denying the presence of God in their lives are the strange, unusual, weird people. Since Christ came as Immanuel, having God with us is supposed to be the normal state of affairs. Having God with you is as easy as inviting Jesus Christ to be your personal Savior. Christians are the normal people; the rest of the world is out-to-lunch. Or, rather, the rest of the world is desperately in need of the saving knowledge that Christians take for granted in Jesus Christ. Immanuel - God with us. And God wants to be with all humans, the world over.

God with us! As we prepare to receive Holy Communion this morning, let us thank God for his presence with us now. And let us pray that he might also be with all of our human sisters and brothers, wherever they may be, during this glorious season of the celebration of his Advent upon earth! Amen.

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