Advent Devotional Resource - San Francisco Theological Seminary

Tuesday, December 1Matthew 1: 22-23God of the Here and NowOne of the names for Jesus in the Christmas story is “Emmanuel,” which is a fulfillment of theHebrew prophecy. In the Matthew text, Emmanuel is translated for the reader as “God with us.”(Mt 1:23). This title is usually understood in a spatial framework—Jesus is God with us here, notGod in heaven. People in Biblical times understood the heavens to be “up there” in the clouds. Godwas not here, but up there in heaven, on a throne, surrounded by angels.Emmanuel could also be understood in a temporal frame of reference—Jesus is God with us now.God is no longer to be found in the past as the “God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob …” Nor is God tobe found in the future as the expected Messiah, to come in power and glory. Rather, Jesus is God withus now, in the present moment. We might say Jesus is God in the “here and now.”Even though God can be found in the past and the future, many of the most inspiring and spiritualmoments of life are in “the present”. Remember when you last saw a magnificent sunset from amountain peak. In those moments, all of your senses were heightened, as you absorbed the colors,the smells, temperature, the images, and the sounds. You were fully alive in “the present!” How aboutspiritual peak experiences? Perhaps you can remember when you first gazed into the eyes of yournewborn child. A precious moment, a sacred bonding, an occasion when time seemed to stand stillfor a moment or two. The present was everything. Professional athletes who reach the pinnacle oftheir careers—a Super Bowl, a Stanley Cup, or a retirement ceremony capping a career—advise theirpeers, if they are ever so fortunate to get there, “Enjoy the moment.” Take in every sight, sound,word, and sensation. Yes, these are once in a lifetime events and they are special, because they inviteus to fully embrace “the present.” Various spiritual practices have focused on helping us become moreaware of God’s presence in the present, God’s often unseen and unrecognized presence in the present.God in Christ is what Paul Tillich termed the “eternal now.”When Jesus leaves earth he promises “I am with you always.” (Matthew 28:8). This promise endsMatthew’s gospel, even as the announcement of “Emmanuel” opens his story. This phrase can beunderstood temporally too—Jesus is now the “living Christ,” the resurrected one, who is always withus in the present moment. He is eternally in our present and thus ever present.Lord Jesus, who comes to us in the present and is ever present with us, give us eyes to see you clearly in thisadvent season, from the extraordinary to the ordinary, from the sacred to the profane, grant us the eyes to seeyou everywhere and the love to open up our hearts to your entry. We pray in the precious name, Emmanuel.Amen.Rev. Dr. R. Scott SullenderSFTS Associate Professor of Pastoral CounselingDirector of Lloyd Counseling Program