Emmanuel

This year Christmas means so much more to me. It has always meant Emmanuel, God with us. And I have always been amazed by the idea of the God of the universe embracing complete vulnerability and weakness to be with us. But this year, I need God with me more than ever. Probably a bit like Mary did.

I recently watched a movie depiction of the Christmas story and it struck me how unrealistic they always make Mary’s response to the angel's news.  They always make her sound so calm, so okay with what the angel is telling her. Like, “Sure, go ahead and ruin my reputation, put my family at risk, make me the laughingstock of the town, even though I did nothing wrong, and put me at risk of losing the people I love most. No big deal.” She was literally saying yes to the possibility of losing the man who was supposed to marry her (and any prospect of finding another one), losing the respect of everyone in the community including her family, and possibly even losing her life. But she counted all of that worth it to be obedient to what God was asking her to do for the sake of his glory.

Even so, I would imagine that as Mary became pregnant and feared the worst reactions from those she loved, she probably needed “God with us” as much as anyone. Of course she knew she must have heard from God (which I have to say I’m a little jealous of): she saw an angel and she was pregnant without a baby daddy. Of course God had spoken. But I can only imagine the number of times Mary must have prayed, “God, I hope you know what you’re doing,” and “God, this better be worth it,” and “God, please help me get through this.” If I were her, I would have constantly been asking God why it had to happen this way. 

And then there’s Joseph. Surely he needed to know God was with him too. Joseph didn’t hear directly from God until he had that dream…. He had to take it all on faith and trust that Mary was telling the truth. And then he had to decide between his reputation and the woman he was supposed to marry. I can only imagine the confusion and the “why?” questions that rolled around in his mind.

I realize that I’m not carrying the Son of God in my womb or anything, but I have done my fair share of praying those prayers this year, “God, I hope you know what you’re doing,” and, “God, this better be worth it,” and, “God, please help me get through this.”

So I pray that if you’re like me, trying to understand what God is asking of you without being able to see the whole picture, that you would know Emmanuel in a deep way, and that you would remember that Mary and Joseph didn’t have the whole story either; they just took the assignment God gave them and trusted him to work it all out. And just like God becoming a baby doesn’t make sense, sometimes the parts of our lives that make the least amount of sense are the ones that give him the greatest amount of glory. So even when it doesn't feel like it, that makes all of it worth it.