12-15-20

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
December 15, 2020
Scripture: Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Thought for the Day: The human heart has forever noticed a longing, a deep spiritual yearning to draw close to the holy, the sacred, the divine. Many cultures throughout history have used different language to describe, not only what we might call God, but the hunger of the soul. When crisis occurred, different religions attempted to describe the involvement of their deity, trying to determine if they had to placate some holy anger or change their ways. Some even pondered whether their deity had been defeated and killed by another culture’s deity. Some of those beliefs and discussions are found even within the Old and New Testaments, but in times of lostness and despair, we find language of Immanuel (Emmanuel), God with us. Time and time again, no matter how bleak the predicament, someone announced Emmanuel. It wasn’t some far off wishful thinking, but a declaration of God’s everlasting presence. God has found and continues to find ways of showing up. That is the Good News we announce in this season of the year.

Prayer: Come again, Emmanuel! Show up, especially where darkness and fear have hindered our vision. Allow us to know of your presence that is not sitting somewhere else, but forever present to us…whether we recognize it or not. Glory be to you, O God! Amen.

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