God Chooses to Be With Us
As the Fourth Sunday of Advent arrives, the season grows quieter. We hear less about prophets witnessing in the wilderness and more about the real life circumstances that Joseph has to think about before the birth of Jesus. We are close enough to Christmas now to feel its pull, but Advent still asks us to pause, to notice where God is already present, even before the celebration fully unfolds.
The scripture readings for this week speak directly into moments of uncertainty. In Isaiah, the prophet addresses a fearful king and an anxious people. They are offered a sign, not one of political strength or military victory, but the promise that God has not abandoned them. A child will be born, and his name will carry meaning: “God is with us.” Long before Christmas lights or carols, this promise is spoken into a time of real fear and instability.
Matthew’s Gospel picks up this ancient promise in a deeply human story. Joseph finds himself facing a future he did not expect or plan. His life is disrupted, his assumptions challenged, and his sense of control shaken. But it is precisely here, with confusion and vulnerability, that God chooses to act. Through a dream and a word of reassurance, Joseph is invited to trust that what is unfolding is held within God’s purpose. The child to be born will carry the same ancient promise: God is with us.
This is the heart of the Incarnation, that God became human in the person of Jesus while remaining fully God. This idea of Incarnation lies at the center of Episcopal theology. God does not remain distant, waiting for humanity to get things right. Instead, God enters fully into human life, into its messiness, fragility, and uncertainty. God chooses presence over power, relationship over control. The birth of Jesus is not God stepping in to fix things from afar; it is God stepping alongside us, sharing our life from the inside.
Advent often reminds us that waiting can be uncomfortable. We wait with unanswered questions, unresolved griefs, and hopes that feel fragile. But Advent also teaches us that God is already at work within that waiting. The promise of Emmanuel does not depend on perfect circumstances or complete understanding. It rests on God’s faithfulness.
That is why the Fourth Sunday of Advent gently shifts our attention. We are not only waiting for Christ to come; we are being invited to recognize that God is already near. In the Episcopal Church tradition, we affirm that the Incarnation reveals a God deeply committed to the world God has made, a God who sanctifies human life by entering it.
As Christmas approaches, this promise grows clearer. The manger will soon remind us that God’s nearness does not look like worldly strength or triumph. It looks like vulnerability, trust, and love offered freely. The child born in Bethlehem does not erase hardship or uncertainty, but transforms them by God’s presence within them.
This promise continues beyond Advent and Christmas. Emmanuel is not only a name remembered in scripture; it is a reality we are invited to live into. God is with us in our celebrations and our sorrows, in our clarity and our confusion, in our coming together and our quiet moments alone. The Incarnation assures us that there is no place we go where God has not already chosen to be.
As we move from Advent into Christmas, you are invited to gather with the community at Trinity for worship and prayer:
Celtic Service: Saturday, December 20th, at 6 pm
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Sunday, December 21st, at 10 am
Christmas Eve Service: Wednesday, December 24th, at 7:30 pm
Christmas Day Service: Thursday, December 25th, at 10 am
First Sunday of Christmas: Sunday, December 28th, at 10 am
Whether you come with joy, weariness, or quiet longing, there is space for you. The promise remains the same: God chooses to be with us, now and always.
Kevin+
