God With Us: Advent Love Promised, Fulfilled, Embodied

When fear rises up, we want to take control. When anxietyraises up, we want to take control. Ahaz places his hope in alliances, in paying tributes, in human strength. He empties the gold from the temple treasury to buy Assyria's protection from the impending attack from Syria. This leader, he's making deals. He's winning loyalty and support in order to survive politically now, but at the expense of future security. Now, from a political standpoint,it looks prudent. But from a theological standpoint, it's a refusal to trust. [00:30:13] (47 seconds)  #TrustNotAlliances

There's no quick fix like building up an army or taking out his opponents or slapping his name on the side of a building so that people think good of him. But it's not just any child. It's a special one, one who is called Emmanuel, God with us. You see, what God promises is not power on our terms,but presence on God's terms. [00:32:28] (32 seconds)  #PresenceOverPower

God does not say, I'm going to solve all your problems. I'll remove all the danger. I'll remove all discomfort and pain and suffering from your life. God simply says, I will not abandon you. I'm not going anywhere. To say that God is with his people in scripture is not just sentimental language. It is a covenant language. It's a promise, a lifelong, never broken promise that God will take care of, even when you cannot. It means God binds himself in love to theirstory, binds himself to their risk, binds himself to their future. Love is not here to rescue us from difficulty. Love is here in Christ and refuses to leave. [00:33:31] (51 seconds)  #NeverAbandoned

And because of Christ's arrival, because of Emmanuel, because God with us, that's what Emmanuel means, love is fulfilled. Yet despite the fullness of God's love being fulfilled in Christ's first arrival, there's this other tension that we discover if we're willing to pay attention to it in our lives.We find that love is not only proclaimed, it is practiced, often at a great cost. And this tension shows up in this costliness of love in the quiet courage of Joseph. [00:37:50] (35 seconds)  #LovePracticedNotProclaimed

Now, Matthew tells us that Mary is found to be with child during their betrothal. Now, most of us aren't familiar with a betrothal, but it's not a casual engagement. It's not just moving in together. A betrothal couldn't just bequietly set aside. It was a binding public commitment. Even though you weren't living together, even though the marriage hadn't been consummated, it was so serious that ending it would mean and require a formal legal divorce. [00:38:25] (33 seconds)  #SacredBetrothal

And for Joseph, this discovery would have felt like the ground giving way beneath his feet. This woman that he had pledged his life to, was about to pledge his life, appeared to have betrayed him. She's pregnant with someone who's not his child.And the future he imagined was suddenly in question. Now, in an honor-shame world, to go forward in this marriage would have cost him very much. It would mean accepting public disgrace, not just for himself, but for his family. It would also cause her great shame. But how does Joseph respond? It's not vindictive. It's not angry. [00:38:58] (46 seconds)  #GraceInShame

Matthew tells us that Joseph is righteous, meaning he's in right standing. He desiresto do things the right way. He's unwilling to expose Mary to public disgrace. And even with the difficult dilemma before him, he's already chosen compassion before he understands what's going on. I wonder if that's something that we could learn from. You know, before the angel speaks, before the explanation comes, Joseph chooses mercy. [00:40:16] (32 seconds)  #ChooseMercy

``See, God draws near. That's the Advent, that's the Incarnation, that's God with us, that'sEmmanuel, that's the purpose. God draws near to us in Jesus, not to observe us from a distance, not to show us a good way to live, but to change us from the inside out. Not to rescue us from our humanity and pluck us out of this messed up world, but to redeem this world from within, one life at a time. [00:46:00] (28 seconds)  #GodDrawsNear