We are Emmanuelites…God is with us!
We used this call and response in Youth Ministry many years ago. And it had two purposes: first, to gain the attention of the teens so they could focus on what was about to happen. And second, to remind them to trust in the fact that God is with us at all times.
We are Emmanuelites…God is with us!
God is always with us – even in our dreams.
I started dating Stephanie (my wife) back in college. We started out as friends and our relationship grew into something wonderful. In my senior year, I began focusing all of my attention on my career and trying to find a job. So long story short, we broke up. Once I had graduated, I headed home, found a job, and pursued my career. However, something was not quite right in my life. Then, my grandmother began very ill and eventually passed away. I was totally distraught and filled with grief. Emotionally and spiritually, things started collapsing around me. After her funeral, I felt empty and suddenly had no idea of what I wanted to do, where I wanted to be, or who I wanted to be with. I cried myself to sleep that evening, feeling like God had abandoned me in my struggles.
That night, I had the most incredible dream. I’m not sure if I was visited by an angel or by God himself – but what transpired was amazing. I was told in this dream that I needed to marry Stephanie. I was told not to worry, and that everything was going to be just fine. I woke up the next morning, and I remember telling my Mom about my dream. She looked at me as if I had two heads. But I told her, I had to get back together with Stephanie. I had to buy her a ring because I needed to marry her. My Mom asked me if I was sure about this. I said no. But I needed to trust God because this dream was too real to ignore. So we ended up getting back together. I eventually proposed and luckily she said yes; and the rest, as they say, is history.
During the interval between the betrothal contract and the wedding ceremony, Mary and Joseph would see each other during the day, but live separately as was customary. It was in this time frame that our Gospel story takes place. You can imagine Joseph’s shock and hurt when he finds out that his fiancé was already expecting a child that wasn’t his. But Joseph being a decent man decides that they will separate quietly. That night, Joseph has a dream. An angel visits him and tells him to trust in God – to take Mary as his wife, and that everything was going to be just fine. The angel tells him that Mary will bear a son, and you shall call him Emmanuel, which means, God is with us.
Two stories but one theme: trusting in God. It’s not easy for us to trust in God, to be patient and wait for his response. Sometimes we worry about things, stress about things, and try to figure things out on our own. We tend to forget that God is with us, even in our struggles and trials. Often times, it is in those struggles and trials when we have our closest encounter with God, when God is right there with us saying, “Do not be afraid. Trust me. Everything is going to be just fine.”
Are we willing to be open to finding God present in our everyday lives? Are we willing to trust in the God who loves us? We’ve got to learn to trust God. After all, if God is going to write our love story, he’s going to first need our pen!
The dream has become a reality. In this final week of Advent, let us trust that God is with us always; that everything is going to be just fine. We don’t have to wait for another sign because God is with us in the most unimaginable way: in the person of a human infant – Jesus Christ, the Savior to be born. Let us praise His name forever!
We are Emmanuelites…God is with us! Amen!
