More... Be

"...that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you

 to be..."  Ephesians 3:16a

In our culture we identify ourselves with what we do.  I suspect this is true in many world cultures as well.  I actually recognized this a few years back and since then have tried to learn more about the people I encounter before getting around to asking what they do for a living just to be different.  But I have been totally guilty of identifying myself predominantly with what I engage in and especially how I produce income.  "Hi, I'm Ruth and I work in retail management." Or "Hi, I'm Ruth and I'm a stay-at-home mom."  Or "Hi, I'm Ruth and I am a voice teacher."  Then, of course, that's followed by a quick "And what do you?"  Yep.  You've done it too.  Haven't you? It must be part of our DNA - at least our fallen and damaged DNA.

Now before you get your undies in a bundle I don't mean to accuse or start an argument.  I only want to draw attention to a reality in which we live.  We are what we do.  But, honestly, this doesn't necessarily line up well with having more of God.  Does it?  And that's what we're after.  Right?

The summer we took our son, Andrew, to freshman orientation at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana I was introduced to a Scripture meditation method called lectio divina, or sacred reading.  In our parent orientation session two veteran Taylor parents led us through Paul's prayer for the Ephesians in chapter three.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from 

whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you

 to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your 

inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through

 faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may 

have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is 

the breadth and length and height and depth, and to 

know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, 

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:14-19

It was actually quite straightforward and profoundly simple in its approach.  Read a small passage of Scripture, listening carefully for what word or phrase stands out.  Then read the passage again, slowly, methodically and listen again.  Were you drawn to the same word/phrase or something different?  Read it again.  Ask the same question.  Now ask the Spirit to reveal what He is trying to speak to you.

The word revealed to me was surprising and incredibly convicting.  Of all the words available in that passage  God sought to draw my attention to the tiny word "be."  My initial response was "That can't be right!"  Yet when I listened through the passage again "be strengthened" didn't fit and I wasn't drawn to anything else.  The third time "be" was the obvious word I was to pay attention to.  I started to quietly cry.  My entire life was a flurry of doing.  I had been raised to be a doer, and I took great pride in that.  It was humbling to have that rug pulled out from under me.  As I continued to listen it was as if God were gently whispering into my soul, "All I've ever wanted for you is to just be...with Me."  The truth of that washed over me and I felt a torrent of tears leak from my eyes.  I'd spent so many years doing in order to gain favor with the Lover of my soul.  And here He was, telling me all that activity was essentially futile.  He just wanted me to be.  Period.

I think that if I want more of God I need to "do" less and "be" more.  I am reminded of Luke's account of a dinner that was hosted by a set of siblings who were particularly close to Jesus.  God often draws me back to this story.  It's probably because I have such a propensity to focus on doing.  The story picks up in Luke 10:38.  One of the siblings, Martha, greets Jesus and welcomes him into her home.  Like me, she wants everything to be perfect for her dear friend.  She rushes around in a flurry of doing, cooking, serving and making her guests comfortable.  At some point she recognizes that her sister Mary is sitting quietly before Jesus, hanging on his every word.  She becomes indignant.  I can relate to this.  It's frustrating to be alone in your doing.  And don't we often feel alone in our doing?  She approaches Jesus and demands that He correct her errant sister, even going so far as to accuse Him of not caring!  Yikes!  Unfortunately I know this hits way too close to home!  And haven't we all been here at one point or another?  We are often lauded by those around us to do more.  And so we do.  But Jesus is about to show us a better way!

Jesus' response to Martha is full of so much kindness and yet reproof also.  He shows that he cares so much for her and invites her into a better reality.  He doesn't compare the two women as I know we have a tendency to do, assigning judgments of one kind or another.  Rather He invites Martha into relationship with Him as well.  "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:41-42)  Don't miss this!  If you do, I fear having more of God will be elusive if not impossible.  One thing is necessary.  Mary isn't doing the one thing necessary.  She has chosen merely to be.  Be present.  Be listening.  Be engaged.  Be close.  Be relating.  Open to whatever Jesus has for her.  

I feel that Jesus would like us to see this clearly.  Life is not about what we do, but rather who we are.  Or perhaps, even more clearly, Whose we are.  We belong to the One who calls Himself "I AM."  I believe we would do well to recognize that our identity is found in His reality - I AM.  Be.

Today I leave with you with lyrics to another song that resonates with my soul.  It is "Breathe performed by Jonny Diaz.

Alarm clock screaming bare feet hit the floor

It’s off to the races everybody out the door

I’m feeling like I’m falling behind, it’s a crazy life

Ninety miles an hour going fast as I can

Trying to push a little harder trying to get the upper hand

So much to do in so little time, it’s a crazy life

It’s ready, set, go it’s another wild day

When the stress is on the rise in my heart I feel you say just

Breathe, just breathe

Come and rest at my feet

And be, just be

Chaos calls but all you really need

Is to just breathe

Third cup of joe just to get me through the day

Want to make the most of time but I feel it slip away

I wonder if there’s something more to this crazy life

I’m busy, busy, busy, and it’s no surprise to see

That I only have time for me, me, me

There’s gotta be something more to this crazy life

I’m hanging on tight to another wild day

When it starts to fall apart in my heart I hear you say just...

Breathe lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Essential Music Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group

More... Aren't We All Prodigals

 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, 

and all that is mine is yours.  Luke 15:31

I find myself thinking about this conversation I've started.  More...  Specifically more of God, my Inheritance.  As I was thinking about this I began to think about inheritance in general.  Did Jesus have anything to say about inheritances?  And even as I asked the question my mind was open to the story Jesus told about two sons.

The story has become known as "The Parable of the Prodigal Son."  The story involves two sons.  And at issue is an inheritance.  With only that information the story already sounds scintillating!  As Jesus tells the story it gets more and more and more incredulous, unthinkable even!!!  But Jesus is making a point.  And while I've heard the story told numerous times and heard nearly as many sermons preached on it, I think there's a couple small, but key details I may have missed.  But I get ahead of myself.  Let's let the story play out.

As Jesus tells the story it is the brazen younger son who boldly asks his father for the inheritance.  To Jesus' audience the mere thought of this sort of a request would have been a shock.  To ask for an inheritance before the death of the bequeather was the same as saying "I want you dead!"  Yet the father divides the inheritance and the younger son soon moves away, perhaps to the big city, and wastes his entire inheritance.  When the funds dry up so do the so-called friends he's accumulated and soon the son is left destitute and alone.  When he recognizes the predicament in which he finds himself he chooses to return to his father.

Up front Jesus doesn't tell us a whole lot about the father, except that he has two sons.  We don't know what type of father he is other than he is a man of means; there is an inheritance that can be given.  Later, when the son returns, we discover that the father dismisses all decorum to greet his returning lost son, then lavishes him with an abundance of dignity rebuilding, family-position restoring elements.  He's been waiting all these many days for reconciliation.  Incredible!    

Honestly, though, as I thought of the inheritance I realized that perhaps the most incredible thing about this story and one detail I've missed, is that that father divides the inheritance without question.  Jesus states it rather matter-of-factly "A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them."  (Luke 15 11b-12 NASB)  He does not seem to be offended or angry.  He gives them what they want.  No resistance whatsoever.  

Though Jesus places much attention on the younger, "lost" son, the story eventually reveals that each son values the physical property over their relationship with the father.  We've already seen it with the younger son, but it's there with the older son too.  He complains that he hasn't even gotten a young goat to share in celebration with his friends.  And he's angry. He's only seeing value in what the father can give him...just like his younger brother.

This brings me to the second detail I've overlooked in the past.  It's found in the father's response to his older, more "settled" son. "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours."  (Luke 15:31)  The blaring truth is that the real treasure is in the relationship.  You are always with me.  The boys missed it.  I've missed it!  The very best we can receive in life is rooted in relationship.  There's no getting around it.  The real inheritance IS THE FATHER!!!!!

Now let's put this in the context of more...more of God.  How does this fit that paradigm?  

For those who know me well, you know that I love to look at word meanings to gain more thorough understanding of whatever I happen to be reading.  The word "prodigal" that we've attributed to the story actually means "extravagant and reckless" not "wayward" as we have come to understand the meaning based on the story.  In this story there really are three individuals who have been extravagant and reckless; two of them negatively and one positively.  The younger son, who has forever earned him the title "prodigal" was extravagant and reckless in the lifestyle he chose which squandered his inheritance.  Obvious, right?  The older son's prodigal-ness is a little less obvious.  He is not extravagant but rather reckless in his judgment of the situation and his father.  He views his father as stingy when, in fact, the father is overwhelmingly generous.  The father really demonstrates the most prodigal behavior of all, however.  He generously gives with no thought for himself.  He pours out his love without condition, even when it's not received that way at all.  He waits day after day to reconcile with his brash younger son even though he has no guarantees that his love will be reciprocated.  He is fully extravagant and reckless!

Here's the best news of all!  This is YOUR Father and mine!!!  He is generous and extravagantly loving!  He is more than I could possibly hope for and He's waiting for the complete restoration of my soul to Him!  I already have all of God...I just need to recognize it.  Let's continue to explore the how of that in posts to come.  

I would like to leave you with the chorus lyrics to the song by Bethel Music called "Reckless Love."  I find myself meditating on these words day and night in these days.

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine.
I couldn't earn it
I don't deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

More... Turning Greed on Its Head

 ...and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance 

that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, 

beyond the reach of change and decay.  1 Peter 1:4 NLT

I have a nasty little secret I'm going to share.  In my natural heart I am greedy.  I want the biggest and best of everything.  I want fame and recognition.  I want to be better than everyone else.  Ooooh.  I said it.  I don't think I'm alone.  I think if we're honest with ourselves all of us must acknowledge that the old, sinful side of ourselves longs for more.  More money.  More stuff.  More friends.  More "likes" on Facebook.  More prestige.  More control.  More time to engage what we like to do.   More...

Jesus accuses the scribes and Pharisees, the religious right of their day, of this very thing.  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence."  (Matthew 23:25)  Jesus basically curses these religious elitists for their pious public behavior that covers up what is really going on in their rebel hearts.  How many times have I done this?  Too many times to count!  The word for "greed" here is translated as "covetousness" other places in the New Testament and basically means wanting what doesn't rightfully belong to you.  Guilty in this context too, I'm afraid!  

But what if this desire for more is really a God characteristic that sin has skewered in our hearts and minds, that of misplaced desire.  There's a surprising story in Genesis that opens up a new understanding of "more" for me, one that bears the positive outcome we all need.

Jacob is referred to over and over again in the Bible as one of three patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) with whom God establishes a life-giving covenant that will bless not only their family, but will also eventually bless the entire world.  But Jacob's spot in that trifecta was unlikely.  A little back story here opens up the significance of the story which I would like to share.

Jacob was a twin.  He was named Jacob because he was holding the heel of his brother while he was being born. (Genesis 25:26)  The word Jacob means "one who supplants."  To supplant means to usurp or take the rightful place of another. We see in the following chapters how Jacob successfully schemes to take both his older brother Esau's birthright and blessing, the two most important things an oldest son could receive or inherit from his father.  This, of course, puts a lot of strain (to say the least!) on the relationship between the brothers.  So a scheming Rebekah sends Jacob away to her brother Laban to find a wife (for his own protection), unwittingly sending him from "the frying pan into the fire," so to  speak!  Jacob falls in love with the beautiful, but younger daughter Rachel but falls prey to his uncle Laban's scheming and marries the less beautiful older daughter Leah.  He  marries the beautiful Rachel but spends years under the thumb of his duplicitous uncle. Four wives and twelve children later Jacob escapes from his devious Uncle Laban an insanely wealthy man.  He had it all from a worldly perspective, except for possibly what we might consider normal, loving relationships! And thus we find Jacob, peace offering to his brother Esau in hand, moving back home.  Jacob is fearful, probably has been his entire life for what trickster is ever safe from his wrongdoing?  On the last leg of his journey he sends his entourage ahead and stays behind.  So far it's not a very hopeful story.  

But here's where the story gets good!  Let's pick it up in Genesis 32.  Now all alone, Jacob finds himself in confrontation with a man who wrestles with him all night.  As dawn is breaking something very significant happens in the life of Jacob that changes everything!  He asks the man, God himself as Jacob soon discovers, to bless him.  This is extremely significant to our understanding because to bless means to bow the knee, show honor and give an inheritance.  Once again, Jacob wanted more.  Sound familiar?

What God gives Jacob is not more physical inheritance, for He's already done that.  I believe what God gives Jacob here is a spiritual inheritance.  This is reflected in the name change that occurs.  God now calls Jacob, Israel.  The name Israel means "God prevails."  This is such a huge gift for Jacob because he no longer has to live up to the reputation of being a schemer but can rely wholly on the absolute faithfulness of God.

The New Testament writers acknowledged that this inheritance is God Himself.  Peter, who was about as close to Jesus as anyone could have been, writes these words of encouragement to believers who had been driven out of Rome by the conniving emperor Nero.  

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born 

again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus 

Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, 

undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by 

God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation 

ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice, 

though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been 

grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of 

your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though 

it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory 

and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 

Though you have not seen him, you love him. 

Though you do not now see him, you believe in him 

and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled 

with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, 

the salvation of your souls.  1 Peter 1:3-9

These words are for us as well.  This spiritual inheritance, Jesus Christ Himself,  belongs to us too.  We would do well to ask from God, as Jacob did, for more.  More of Himself.  When we ask for more of God we turn greed on its head, for having more of God is the only way that "more" gets us what we truly want and need.

On Sunday my pastor, Dan Nold, introducing a new series on the Engaged Life asked what a "life without walls" might look like.  I leave you with this because I think it begins to explore what a life with more of God might look like.  Here is a working definition of what this engaging, life without walls life might look like.

Life without walls is a life of passionate worship 

rather than passive attendance.  It goes beyond 

consumerism to surrender and sacrifice.  

It is a life of intense joy, 

engaging Jesus in a mission to love others and the world.

Dan Nold

When Jesus Redeems Pain...

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will 

dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God 

himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe 

away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be 

no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain 

anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

Revelation 21:3-4

As we come away from the Christmas season I think it might be beneficial to look back one more time at the name the prophet Isaiah gave to Jesus and how it meets us where we live. The name Immanuel means "God with us." At the end of his last manuscript, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, John explains that when time has ceased to exist we will be with God and He will be with us...no holds barred. It will be complete and utter intimacy with Him all the time. Unfortunately that's not the life we now live. So what do we do with that?

Every single person on this earth experiences pain at one time or another.  It's inevitable. Pain comes in a wide variety of forms from physical pain to emotional pain to relational pain to financial pain to... And the list goes on. I know I've experienced many of them on more than one occasion. Within the last month I experienced pain two different ways in a significant fashion.

About a week before Christmas I fell almost the entire length of our stairs when I decided to venture down to our main level in the middle of the night without a light on.  I'm pretty sure I know what I'd be thinking if I were you..."Brilliant!  Just brilliant!  What on earth!"  I've already given myself the lecture.  Here's the thing though; I'd done this dozens of times before without any incident. My expectation was that because I'd maneuvered these same stairs successfully I would do it again. I spent nearly two weeks in excruciating pain, traveling cross country, hundreds of miles in the process. I can persevere through physical pain when I perceive the need for it is there. It doesn't mean I enjoy it! And because of the pain I didn't enjoy most of that trip. I may have been better off sending my family and relaxing quietly at home.

Then just yesterday an emotional response to a dashed presumption capsized me. It was certainly a spiritual attack as I know it hearkened back to a childhood soul-wound I've carried (and thought I'd successfully overcome!) for years. I wasted an entire afternoon and evening feeling unloved and disfavored. It was deep seated pain. I retired just after dinner, completely worn and exhausted. Even today the weariness of all of it still lingers.

In each incident I had times I didn't respond well (in fact one which had no redemptive responses at all!), a much too common occurrence in my experience. I had been lured by false assumptions and encountered negative consequences for each expectation failure. Pain.

It's difficult to find anything redemptive about pain. It is a symptom that something is wrong. Wrong with my body. Wrong with my mind or soul. Wrong with...you name it. Pain is the evidence that this present world is not well-suited for us. It became part of the conversation after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3:16-19)  Prior to that conversation, prior to the sin that brought about that conversation, it's safe to say the Adam and Eve lived in an environment that was suited just for them.  It would have been the right temperature to not require any clothing.  There was no need for shelter; dew watered the plants so there was no weather and therefore no reason for shelter.  Work had been part of their story, but only pleasant exercises of cultivation and creativity that wouldn't have produced any debility.  Food grew plentifully. Water was pure and clean.  Eden. Paradise.

That "first" world is what God promises will be restored. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."  (Revelation 21:4) John goes on to share God's committment, "Behold, I am making all things new." (Revelation 21:5) Eden returned.  Paradise renewed.  Vines's Dictionary of New Testament words explains: 
                    kainos denotes "new," of that which is unaccustomed or 
                    unused, not "new" in time, recent, but "new" as to form 
                    or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old.  
God's use of the word "new" to describe the world to come promises something that we've never experienced before.  Something we haven't been able to imagine even.  It's the old transformed, restored, renewed.  Our senses filled.  Our hearts enlarged to take it all in.  Our creativity on over-drive, destined to be the new normal.  Evil and suffering and pain banished...forever! I believe it to be.  It's what I look forward to each day.  It's when I forget that pain becomes unbearable.

I would like to leave you with this provocative quote from John Eldredge's new book All Things New.  When I first saw this excerpt before the book was released hope rose within me.  I was overjoyed to receive it as a gift for Christmas.  I trust that in any pain you're experiencing today you will find hope in these imaginative tidings which I also happen to think are biblically based.  Though Eldredge never uses the word pain, it is definitely there by implication.

Imagine - after your enemies are judged

and banished, great treasure chests are then brought 

in and set before you.  Huge oak chests; it requires two men or 

angels to bring each one in, and there are several.  Jesus 

tells you to open them.  You ask, "What are these, Lord?"

and he replies, "Theses are the gifts I meant for you in your

former life but were stolen or prevented from making it to you.

I return them now, with interest."  Imagine all that fills those

chests.  You hear laughter coming from one, for so much of

what has been lost are memories and joy.  

John Eldredge, All Things New, p.147-8

Welcome to a New Year with #ONEWORD!

Do not allow this world to mold you in its own image. 

Instead, be transformed from the inside out by 

renewing your mind. As a result, you will be able to 

discern what God wills and whatever God finds 

good, pleasing, and complete.  Romans 8:2 The Voice

In the blink of an eye it happened.  The year 2017 slipped completely into history past and the year 2018 scurried in.  The passage of time is funny that way.  If we're not watching for it we will miss it.  We may miss it even when we're watching for it.  But that's just an observation.  I have no intention of philosophizing over the passage of time.

But it is a fact that we have passed into a new year.  Many have set or will set New Year's resolutions.  I have never been one inclined to set such resolutions.  I'm not even sure why.  I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I hate (I mean HATE) to fail.  Like so many people, when I set New Year's resolutions I make them so lofty that they are destined for failure.  You'd think, perhaps, that I might learn to set more attainable goals.  But even with that comes the possibility of failure and at the first sign that I might not live up to my own expectations for myself I tend to just quit rather than succumbing to deficiency. Pathetic, I realize, but a seemingly viable defense mechanism for me.  

Resolutions don't work for me, but placing a new focus before myself has been much more successful.  Several years ago someone introduced me to #oneword.  It's very simple  At the end of one year or beginning of the next I choose one single word to set before me.  It can be anything.  Whatever I choose is what I will spend much of my time focusing on in the coming year.

The first year I embarked on this #oneword adventure I chose the word "relate"  after some contemplation and prayer.  I was living in a location I'd been many years, trying to develop meaningful relationships.  I'd demonstrated just about every conceivable act I could think of to improve and foster friendships.  But I never seemed to gain much ground.  So that year in every action and every thought, even, I placed "relate" before me.  I discovered that there were plenty of things I'd been doing and thinking that likely had been putting distance between me and those around me.  And God.  That year I became a kinder, gentler Ruth.  I had a deepening relationship with God.  I became more thoughtful, more generous, more engaged.  The word "relate" grew me in ways I hadn't even imagined.

I decided to try again the following year.  It was another year of growing and learning and sharpening my dependence on God.  In my mind this change of focus with #oneword became an indelible convention.  The thing I like about #oneword is that it is a radial point, not a resolution.  I'm not measuring anything.  I'm training my mind.  I'm confident in this because it's biblical.  It fits very well with what Paul was telling the Roman believers when he wrote "be transformed by the renewal of your mind."  (Romans 12:2)

Now when I choose #oneword I consider a word that is broad enough to give the Holy Spirit the room He needs to move me however He chooses.  Often He moves in more than one direction as there are so many areas in my life that need His transformation.  It's the process of being changed into His image, the image of Jesus Christ.  I start with prayer, looking specifically at areas I'd like to grow in.  Sometimes I get a green light; sometimes the uneasiness tells me to keep looking.  Sometimes I'm brought back to what makes me uneasy because that is where God wants to work.  If I am not careful in my listening or I follow what is merely my passion I wind up with a word that becomes only marginally useful in my transformation.  

This year I feel as though God is leading me to the word "aware."  It's definitely an area I need to enlarge.  I get the very distinct impression that my older children find regular humor in my frequent unawareness.  They readily make fun of my naivete.  But honestly, that's not my motivation; rather, a conviction that being inattentive is hindering relationships with both God and others and is impeding my own personal growth.  When I am aware I can hear God's voice clearly, empathize with others, see needs in others and myself.  Awareness opens my heart to live more fully and prevents the world from molding me into its image. (Romans 12:2a)  I'm excited to see what God does with this new focus in my life.  I am sure to follow miscues from time to time, because I am woefully inadequate when I move in my own strength.  But I am sure to grow.  Of that I am certain.

How might God be calling you to change in 2018?  Move, like me, in a new direction.  Grow deeper in an "old" yet good direction.  Let's make this year a year that brings God glory, a year that makes us more like Him.  I'm certain He's going to do it!

Reflections on Advent Part 17

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. 

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

 and shall call his name Immanuel.  Isaiah 7:14

Last night my husband reminded me as we passed a home with a decorative star poised over its chimney,  reminiscent of a star which Matthew includes in his telling of the Christmas story, that his gospel essentially begins and ends with the same theme.  God is with us.  It is not a new theme in the Bible.  Not at all.  After spending many months with Jesus Matthew wants to remind his readers that above all there is hope because God is with us.  

We first see this introduced as the angel shows up to calm Joseph's fears.  Think about what Jospeh must have been feeling: fear, confusion, betrayal, maybe even righteous indignation.  Don't we all share those feelings at one time or another?  The angel's message is pregnant (pun is intended) with what Joseph needs most.  He needs to know that God is near.  That he hasn't somehow incurred God's wrath.  That he isn't going into this thing called marriage with his pregnant fiancé alone.  Mary's pregnancy would have likely been the gossip of the day.  I'm sure he would have much preferred anonymity!  But God knows what's going on.  He even has a name picked out for Mary's baby.  He tells Joseph the name of the child should be Jesus which means Jehovah is Salvation.  Don't worry, Joseph, this is The Child who will save you...and everyone else!  

Matthew recognizes that this moment fulfills the sign that God gave to Ahaz roughly 700 years before the birth of Christ..."the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14)  He chooses to include it as an aside of sorts. He's the narrator who whispers, "Psst.  By the way..."  And like so many asides, it gives us vital information that changes and deepens our perspective.    Matthew's Jewish readers (for whom Matthew wrote his gospel) would have immediately recognized the name Immanuel.  It means "God with us."  God is near.  He is showing up in a baby!   Astonishing!  Breathtaking!!

This reminds me of the Christmas carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem."  The final stanza of this beloved hymn reads:

O holy Child of Bethlehem

Descend to us, we pray

Cast out our sin and enter in

Be born to us today

We hear the Christmas angels

The great glad tidings tell

O come to us, abide with us

Our Lord Emmanuel

Christmas Carols - O Little Town Of Bethlehem Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Abide with us, Immanuel.  Be born in us, Jesus.  This is the gospel!  This is the good news that everyone had been waiting for since God extended curse and promise together in Genesis 3.  "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.  (Genesis 3:15)  God has brought about the reconciling of the human race to His glorious throne!

As Matthew writes through his gospel, he shows us the remarkable way that Jesus the Man/Jesus God lived, breathed, interacted, taught, healed and related.  We see that Jesus is indeed, God with us.  He has endured hardship, including the incredible and humbling adversity of the cross perfectly.  He has become the propitiation, the payment, for every wrong thing we have ever done.  When we live in this good news we are able to fulfill the last words of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations...

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Matthew 28:19a, 20b

I am with you always.  ALWAYS!!!  I can hardly contain myself.  God is with me!  #bestgiftever

That is the merriest of anything Christmas imaginable!!!!