The Tenth Day of Advent, 2016

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

It is so easy for me to look at Scripture that I know, and almost dismiss it. I’ve heard it so many times. I know what it says and what it means. This Scripture is one of those. But how was it heard when God spoke to Ahaz? What did he think when he heard this most unusual prophecy?

A baby would be born who had no natural father. How could that be? To further add to the unusual picture, the mother would name him – a task that women usually did not do! And if that were not enough, his name would be Immanuel, meaning, “God with us!” Hebrew names usually had specific meaning, but the implications of God with us were huge!

When people heard this prophecy, they must have marveled – they would have heard it, for the teachers in the synagogues memorized whole books of Scripture at a time, and spoke them to the people who gathered there. I cannot help wondering what they thought. Did these words register in their minds? Did they think about them? Did they remember the times that God moved before them in a cloud by day and in fire by night – God with them?

What about today? Do the words register in my mind, or do I just say, “Oh, that’s part of Handel’s Messiah.” Have I heard it so much that I don’t hear it?

Father, remind me every day as I shop and bake and wrap gifts that Christmas is really Immanuel. Amen

And Then It Was Christmas: A Journey Toward Christmas
prepared for Homosassa United Methodist Church, 2006,
by Patience Nave, Christian Education Coordinator.