Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:  “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
Matthew 1: 18-25

GOD WITH US
Mary, Joseph, the Holy Sprit and an angel of the Lord: four persons related to each other in the record of how the birth of Jesus Christ came to take place. The pregnant Mary was engaged to be married to the righteous man Joseph. But it was the Holy Spirit who caused the pregnancy, not Joseph. He did not know this when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream.

Because Joseph was a caring man, he did not want Mary to be disgraced. So he planned to break off the engagement secretly. Nevertheless, the angel made it clear to him that he was not to break off the engagement. The instructions he received were quite clear. He was to take Mary to his home as his wife. And so when he woke up, Joseph being obedient to these instructions, took Mary to his own home as his wife, but did not have sexual relations with her until after the birth of the child. Furthermore, when the child was born, obedient Joseph named Mary’s son ‘Jesus’ exactly as he had been told to do. All of this was done to fulfill the prophecy given through the prophet Isaiah and recorded in Isaiah 7:14, “the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’ which means ‘God with us.’”

Two names – ‘Jesus’ (God saves), the name Joseph gave the child, and ‘Immanuel’ (God with us), the name decreed by Isaiah. Truly He does save and He is with us, even as has been written in scripture. “When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we have done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom he poured out on us generously though Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.” (Titus 3:5-7) “God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5)

Michael Card in his book Immanuel, Reflections of the Life of Christ, tells of his December wedding to his wife Susan. Their pastor and dear friend, Dr. Bill Lane gave them a message never to be forgotten. It was the name Isaiah prophecied--Immanuel: “God with us.” My wife Annie and I have been married fifty-five years, this past June. Since that day when we said “I do, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health”, she has been by my side. And today, while she tries to cope with the ongoing and devastating progress of Alzheimer’s, God Himself is with us, giving us strength for each day.

It is the reality of the message in Michael Card’s song that gives us hope.

Immanuel,
Our God is with us.
And if God is with us,
Who could stand against us?
Our God is with us,
Immanuel.
William Lock, Professor of Music, Emeritus

GOD-WITH-US, You have freely given forgiveness, peace, salvation. Thank you for your promises and for the way we can always trust you to see us through. In the midst of deep difficulties may we remember that you will never leave us nor forsake us. We rejoice because you are with us now and forevermore. Amen