Emmanuel – God with us

They had waited for years, for centuries even. They had been attacked, tortured, killed in the most brutal ways. The Jewish nation had been overrun by other forces and cultures and many had turned aside, given in, given up. There were two things that kept the remainder going. They knew that God was true, faithful through all time, and they knew that he would send help, that a Saviour would come and lead them into new life.

And he came, not the conquering king they expected but as a tiny vulnerable baby, born in poverty in a back yard shed. Emmanuel, God with us, born in Bethlehem and far from home.

God with us as a child, a refugee, a young man. God with us in joy and in sorrow; in friendship and in conflict; in suffering, abandonment and death; in all our experience. God with us in every way we know and will know, including rising to new life.

It’s why we celebrate Christmas. This is no sentimental story but the supreme gift of God to us, Jesus Christ who accompanies, enlightens and saves us by his unconditional, welcoming and constant love. God with us, now and always. Let us celebrate together this Christmas.

Revd Gill