I still remember it so clearly — maybe because it happened every Christmas Eve, or maybe because regardless of how many times we cloaked ourselves with white sheets, adorned our heads with pipe-cleaner halos and held fake, flickering candles, there was a reverence that filled the hall. We were just a group of elementary school children readying ourselves for what we believed to be the role of a lifetime: the heavenly hosts. Doors opened, parents grew silent and we flowed (stumbled) down the aisle to Silent Night. It was a small church sanctuary in a small Texas town, and it stayed with me because it was a picture of something that happened — something holy.
They were waiting. And it makes me wonder if the words of Isaiah fell on barely hopeful hearts. God spoke through the prophet and promised that someday a child would be born to a virgin, and his name would be Immanuel, which means God with us. Given Israel’s history, Immanuel probably felt more impossible than a virgin birth. Because sin makes good feel impossible and peace sounds like a childish dream. Relationships are messy. Life is full of ups and downs; usually, with sin, the downs seem routine. Israel knew that God loved them, but they were far from him. The one hope they had was the Messiah, and Isaiah was giving them another prophecy that someday, somehow, God would be with his people again. They hoped it was true, but it sounded impossible.
Years later the prophecy was brought back up to a young girl and it went like this:
And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and his name shall be Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy — the Son of God … for nothing will be impossible with God.” – Luke 1:30-37.
Sometimes, it happens when I’m super happy and excited, and I think, “If this is how I feel right now, how will I feel in front of Jesus someday?” or, when I’m sad, I wish I could sit next to him. I think that might be how every disciple of Jesus feels on this side of heaven — a simple desire for our faith to be made sight. But, for all that, I might not know the actual physical presence of Jesus; spiritually, he is always with me. I have complete, uninterrupted access to the throne of God because of Immanuel. That is what makes Christmas so stunning. It’s a story of how that can even happen.
If I’m honest, I take this for granted too often. I forget that there was a time in my life and the history of the world when we were without God. I forget how miraculous it is that Jesus would give up his life so someone like me could be his. This Christmas season let’s do something different — may we try to put ourselves in the shoes of the Israelites and realize that the Christmas story whispers in the silent night that holiness has taken on flesh, and now, and forever, we will never be alone. All because of Immanuel. God with us.