Get Ready for Immanuel

Fourth Sunday of Advent[i]
St. John's Lutheran Church, Alexandria, VA
Matthew 1:18-25

“Get Ready for Immanuel”

“Come, Lord Jesus.”  That’s our prayer as Christians.  Before meals, in times of trouble, and throughout this season of Advent.  “Come, Lord Jesus.”  We sing, “O come, o come, Emmanuel.”  But what does all this mean?  We’re nearing the finish line – or the starting line, depending how you look at it.  The time is almost here.  God is going to keep His promise.  “Come, Lord Jesus.”  Be with us.  Advent is just about over.  Get ready!

What’s in a name?  Have you ever looking into what your name means, or why you’re called what you’re called?  When my wife and I welcomed our children into the world, we, like so many parents throughout the ages, wanted to pick names that both fit each child and pointed to their identity.  Our daughter’s name points to Easter and the good news of Jesus, our son’s, strength and God’s graciousness.  Names speak to the hopes that parents have for their child’s life and the history that they will carry into the world.  It’s not all that different today than it was when Jesus was born.

In today’s reading from Matthew’s Gospel account, we hear a version of the Christmas story that’s a whole lot less Hallmark-friendly than Luke’s.  There’s no manger, no shepherds.  There’s Joseph, the man betrothed to Mary, who’s learned that his wife-to-be is pregnant with a child that’s not his.  If you were in Joseph’s shoes, what name would you give to this baby-on-the-way?  But Joseph is a good guy, “a just man,” as Matthew calls him.  So while he wrongly – yet reasonably – assumes that Mary has been unfaithful to him, Joseph is still going to dissolve their marriage contract as privately as possible.  But God steps in.

God steps in.  That’s the big point of Christmas, the hope of Advent.  In Joseph’s case, it happens by means of an angel.  First thing this angel says: “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife.”  From a purely human perspective, there are indeed reasons to fear taking this woman as his wife, a couple of the biggest being the social shame they’d endure and his own doubts about Mary’s faithfulness.  But as the angel tells him, Joseph has found himself in this impossible situation, because God has done the impossible: a virgin is with child, conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit.  God is keeping His promise to His people, sending the ultimate fulfillment of the word of prophecy spoken by Isaiah to faithless King Ahaz centuries earlier.  God is at work to bring hope to a world where people have lived in fear.  And what does the angel say this child’s name will be?  “Jesus.”

What’s in a name?  Everything, when it comes to Jesus.  We’re at a bit of a disadvantage as English speaking Christians here.  “Jesus” wasn’t just a name to those who spoke Hebrew, like Joseph and Mary, or those shepherds from Luke’s Christmas account who went to see a baby sung by angels.  “Jesus” is the Greek form of “Joshua,” that ancient Hebrew name meaning, “Yahweh is salvation” / “The Lord saves.”  Every time that you read or hear the name of Jesus, you can effectively replace it with its literal Hebrew meaning.  So the angel tells Joseph, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name ‘The Lord saves,’ for he will save his people from their sins.”  Try that out this week as we move out from Advent into the time of Christmas!

Jesus saves his people from their sins.  That’s why we’re here.  That’s why we’re getting ready for our Savior to be with us in this season of Advent, because God has come into our world where fear has reigned, to rescue us from everything that would separate us from Him.  “The Lord saves” was born as a baby to live a perfect life for you, for me, for Hebrews and Gentiles alike.  “The Lord saves” went to the cross to save us from our sins.  That’s what Jesus does. But he couldn’t have done any of that unless he was also Immanuel.

“O come, o come, Emmanuel.”  As Matthew helpfully translates for us non-Hebrew-speakers, Immanuel means “God with us.”  (Just to clear this up: “Emmanuel” and “Immanuel” are the same word, the “E” version coming from Greek, the “I” reflecting Hebrew.)  With the Hebrew, we can also read Immanuel as “With-Us-God,” particularly as Christians, because that’s exactly who Jesus is.  Jesus, “The Lord saves,” is Immanuel, “With-Us-God.”  Nobody else has that – this God who is truly with His people.  Jesus is God’s saving presence, the light dawning in the world to drive back the gloom.  He is God With Us coming to make things right with His wayward creation.  He is God With Us stepping in to take action, to bring hope to a world where people have lived in fear.   He is God With Us making the impossible our new reality: taking our sin on Himself to save us and set us free.

Joseph responded to God’s message by obeying it in faith.  Instead of separating from Mary, he continued their betrothal and she became his wife.  He gave her baby, this child that was not his own, the name of Jesus, “The Lord saves,” as the angel had decreed.  Joseph got ready for Immanuel, “God With Us,” by following the Lord in faith.  And so can you today.

Jesus, “The Lord saves,” is Immanuel, “God With Us” both now and in the age to come.  Like Joseph, you and I don’t have to let fear rule our actions and decisions in times of anxiety and uncertainty, because God has stepped in.  You might find yourself wondering if you’re going to be able to get through whatever it is that lies ahead.  When you are faced with a choice to do the right thing, to follow the Lord in faith, it’s possible that you’ll suffer pressure or even scorn from the world around you.  Here’s the thing, though: like Joseph, you won’t have to face those times of anxiety and uncertainty all by yourself, because you will never be alone.  “The Lord saves” has come.  He is “God With Us” forever.

When we call Jesus “Immanuel,” we’re declaring our trust and confidence that God’s saving presence is among us.  That great Advent hymn of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a song of hope.  This hymn is based on the seven ancient antiphons, sentences or chants that were offered before the psalm during the last seven days of Advent.  They each recalled a title from the Old Testament that pointed to God’s promised Messiah, who would be “God With Us.”  Every day, they remind us who our Savior is and what he has done to rescue his people, to bring hope to a world where people have lived in fear.

So as we close out this season of preparation, getting ready for Immanuel, let’s look ahead in hope:  Come, Lord Jesus.  O come, o come, Emmanuel.  Be with us, God.

Amen.

[i] Passage for memory:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). – Matthew 1:22-23