Advent Challenge Day 21
God With Us
Read Together
Jeremiah 23:7-8 & Matthew 1:18-24
Light three candles and say together
Come, O sacred Lord of ancient Israel.*
Reflection
We're finally here! We are at the part of the story we've been waiting for this entire season of Advent! It is the familiar Christmas story with characters we know: Mary, Joseph, and the angel.
And yet, of course, everything we've read up to this point is part of this story too. It has been leading us to this moment, the fulfillment of this promise, since the very first chapters of Scripture. What we read today in Matthew immediately follows the genealogy where Matthew made a point to show how Jesus is the Messiah, a fulfillment of the prophecies. And still, here, Matthew is citing his sources as he points to many of the signs that the people of God were looking for in a coming Messiah: a son from the royal line of King David; The name Jesus, which literally means "God saves"; a reference to a prophecy from Isaiah. Beyond the fulfillment of Scripture, Matthew also describes the miracles of a virgin birth and an angel greeting! This is the culminating moment. Matthew does not want you to miss what is happening here.
Here, finally, the Messiah is coming. And yet, at this moment, that Messiah is so physically small — just a tiny thing growing in His mother's belly. This yet unborn baby is the offspring sent to save God's people. But there's something more. There is one other crucial piece of information. This baby isn't only the Messiah. He isn't only what God has been promising. He won't simply save God's people and be a light to all the nations.
He is Immanuel. God with us.
God. With us.
God.
With us.
This baby, growing in a womb just like every other human baby has done, is also God. God in the womb. God would be cradled. God would be hugged. God's hand would be held. God. In our world. In our flesh. God with us.
God, completely personal.
We've followed the stories through generations of people in Scripture who experienced God in a personal and powerful way. We may know people who know God in a personal and powerful way. We may even know God through these stories, stories found in Scripture, stories of Saints, stories from those who have witnessed their faith to us. We can surely say "God lives in their life!" But, is He personal to you?
Today we started by reading another prophecy, one from Jeremiah. This isn't the prophecy referencing "Immanuel" but it is an invitation to experience Immanuel. What we read in Jeremiah 23 is a promise of a day coming — one that is now accessible to us — where people won't just know God through the stories of others. Instead, they can experience Him and His deliverance personally. The land you are invited to dwell in is one where you can walk side by side with God, as it was in the Garden.
Advent isn't simply a time when we are invited to learn more about who God was. We're invited to know Him as God With Us. Immanuel. Jesus. Personally.
Talk About
- Who has a faith that you find inspiring?
- How do you hope this Advent changes your relationship with God long-term?
Pray Together
O sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain: come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free. *
Amen.
Put it in Action
Ask someone you know who has a deep faith how they know that God is real and always with them.
* During the final days of Advent, we will pray seven ancient prayers based on biblical prophesies about Jesus called the O Antiphons. Each prayer begins by addressing Jesus with one of the titles used for Him in Scripture.