To be with us...
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,
which means, God is with us.”
We went to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our tree again. It's a tradition for us, although ... not always an easy one. This year I had the hardest time sawing the thing down. I don't know if it's because of my age or because I selected a dull saw or both. In any case, I was worn out and winded by the time I finished.
In previous years after the cut, a tractor came by pulling a trailer and took us and our tree back to the processing area. But this year an army of kids in buses arrived at the farm before us, and the tractor driver was preoccupied with giving them "hay rides." So I carried it myself.
By this point, I was convinced that it was indeed my age that had me huffing and puffing as I hobbled back with that tree in tow. To make matters worse, the day we went happened to be the only day that week that it got over 80 degrees.
When we arrived home, the challenges continued. The stem of the tree was on one side with most of the branches and growth on the other – contributing to the difficult endeavor of situating it in a Christmas tree stand without it falling over. After multiple attempts with two different stands, we managed. But I must say it looks rather like it's heavily pregnant or perhaps even like a really rotund Santa Claus. So to communicate the deception of intentionality, we put a Santa hat on top instead of a star.
All in all, our tradition this year turned out to be somewhat strenuous and at times even frustrating. Even so, I look back on it with fondness. Why? Because of the photo above where my daughters are decorating the tree I cut down with such toil.
Tradition, you see, is about presence. Not "presents," but "presence"– the presence of family and friends together participating in activities that hopefully promote fellowship. And what does that entail but being with each other.
Our upcoming Gospel reading references a prophecy from Isaiah where God tells his people that when the Messiah comes, it will mark a time when God will tangibly be with us. It points to the incarnation of our Lord who bore human flesh and "dwelt among us" as John's Gospel says.
And as you read the story, it becomes very clear, very quickly that there was nothing easy about his coming. In fact, it would culminate in him carrying a tree of his own – one that was much heavier and costlier than anything we could imagine because on it he bore the weight of our sins. But he came anyway because he loved us that much and wanted to ensure that his people would be with him both now and into the age of eternal life.
What good news that is!
As we approach Christmas, may we be intentional about remembering this truth and allowing it to inspire us toward fellowship with each other and with our Lord.
Darin+