Advent Sight: *With offers Hope

O Come , O Come Emmanuel ranks as one of my top two Advent / Christmas songs. I have dozen of renditions performed instrumentally and a capella, and by choirs, orchestras, and singers.

We hear the name Emmanuel in the Gospel of Matthew’s telling of the Christmas story. At the end of chapter 1 the Gospel writer quotes from Isaiah chapter 7, telling us that God’s hope will come to the world in a baby named Emmanuel, which means “God With Us.”

Being “with us” implies us not being alone, yet I wonder how many people have felt lonely during COVID. And I wonder how many of us felt alone before we even heard of coronavirus.

Loneliness doesn’t always mean solitude. Sometimes solitude offers healing and perspective. That said, being alone stinks. Our best meaning making in life comes when we experience life together with others.

I wonder if you’ve ever found yourself in a crowd or surrounded by people and felt bone-chilling loneliness well up inside, and to make it worse you cannot share that experience / feeling with anyone around you. It’s awful.

So where do we find hope when “God with Us” – “Emmanuel” only shows up in Advent and Christmas songs? How can we experience God’s presence in the everyday realities of life? The other day I discussed this opening Matthew text with a colleague. As we talked about Emmanuel and its meaning of God with us I suddenly heard another part of Matthew ringing in my ears. At the very end of Matthew’s gospel Jesus’ last words to his followers tell them to remember his name. He says, “Remember, I am with you always, even until the end of time.” Jesus offers encouragement. Here’s a paraphrase: “Remember that I am Emmanuel – I am the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore all of Creation – and I will not leave you alone.” Just before this Jesus tells his followers to share the good news of light, hope, and life transformed with others and not to keep it hidden. While a daunting task, they could go with courage and hope because they knew they were not alone.

Another part of the good news they shared is this: “You are not alone,” which they proved in their very presence of being with others.

Matthew’s Gospel (which is an ancient word for Good News) bookends the story of Jesus’ life with promises of abiding presence – with the promise of Good News that we (and others) do not have to be alone alone.

As Christians, we are the Body of Christ in this world. As Christians, we are imitators of Jesus Christ – who left comfort and safety, and gave up privilege in order for us to know that God will do everything necessary to redeem and restore all of Creation.

I wonder how we can imitate Jesus and reach out to others as a reminder that we do not have to experience loneliness alone…

I wonder how we can grow in our understanding that our lives make the most sense when we experience connection with others…

God often uses us to answer the prayers of those around us. I wonder how your life can answer someone’s lonely cry by being with them. Even though we live in a socially-distanced-COVID time, it doesn’t mean we have to experience it alone – or let others endure this time alone.

I wonder whom you might phone or text this week. To whom might you send a card or email for them to experience God’s presence in the gift we are to each other.

What other ways can you think of being with others in this time?