Isaiah
7:10–17—Here is one
of the most clear and beloved prophecies of the coming of our Lord in the
flesh: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his
name Immanuel. Indeed, seven hundred years later, the Blessed Virgin Mary
conceived and bore a Son: the promised Messiah who would deliver us from sin
and its consequences, God in flesh, Immanuel (which means God with us).
At Christmas a baby barges in and changes everything.
Every child has a right to be wanted. Ahaz, the king of Judah, was offered a
baby as a sign of God’s deliverance of the nation from the two nations
besieging Jerusalem. Yet, Ahaz didn’t want diving help. We might be tempted to
say, “I want to do it myself.” After all
we’ve been told to handle things ourselves. We have come of age and can handle
our own problems.
The Christ-child changes everything. Christmas is more than gifts, friends, and
days off from work or school. What about the real meaning of Christmas. It’s
all in the baby’s name – “Emmanuel: God
with us.” To have the real Christmas means to have God in Jesus come into
our lives.[2]
Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance; for You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.[3]
[1]
Advent, copyright © Ed Riojas, Higher Things
[2]
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series B, John Brokhoff © 1981 CSS Publishing,
Lima, OH
[3]
Advent Collect, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St.
Louis
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