Emmanuel

At this time of year, anticipating Christmas, we sing “Emmanuel”, which we have been told means “God with us”.  But what does that look like?  Think “God moving into the neighbourhood”.    And when God moves into the neighbourhood, things look different; there are different priorities than those to which we are accustomed, just like the priorities of Jesus were different than those of the religious people of the time of his ministry among the poor and disadvantaged of his corner of the Middle East.

 

We get a clue of what this looks like when we read the verse of prophecy from Isaiah 61:1 which he quoted at the outset of his ministry, Luke 4:18-19, which, in “The Message” translation says: “God’s Spirit is on me; he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, To set the burdened and battered free, to announce, “This is God’s year to act!”

When we look at what these words meant in the three short years that followed, we get an idea just what it looks like when “God moves into the neighbourhood”.  The self-righteous religious people are shown up to be unworthy on their own proud account, while the down-trodden, those at the edges of society are treated tenderly, lifted up with compassion and given a value they never believed they had.

Richard Rohr, in speaking about this says: “In each case Jesus describes his work as moving outside of polite and proper limits and boundaries to reunite things that have been marginalized or excluded by society: the poor, the imprisoned, the blind, the downtrodden.

“Jesus’ ministry is not to gather the so-called good into a private country club, but to reach out to those on the edge and on the bottom—to tell those who are “last” that they might just be first! That is almost the very job description of the Holy Spirit, and therefore of Jesus. Today some call it God’s unique kind of justice or “restorative justice.” God present with us and in us, Emmanuel, justifies things by restoring them to their true and full identity in Himself, as opposed to “retributive justice” which seeks only reward and punishment.”

So, this season as we think what “Emmanuel” means, let us resolve to do our little bit to help our community feel what it is like when God moves into the neighbourhood, when those who are down and despondent start to realize what a marvelous potential and value they really have.