God with Us

God with Us

 

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
   and they shall name him Emmanuel’,
which means, ‘God is with us.’ When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

                                                   Matthew 1:18-25

The first miracle of the incarnation:

      God shrinks,

      Takes up residence in a womb,

      downsizes from cosmic accommodation 

      to the boundaries of a belly;

      the sustainer of all things 

      sustained by a placenta

      Hands that crochet constellations

      in their spare time

      forgo fine motor skills

      and emerge coated in vernix;

      fragile thumbs and fingers

      upon the new-born Christ.

The second miracle of the incarnation:

      Jesus shares his face,

      Declares the prisoner

      and the naked

      and the hospitalised

      are wearing

      his cheekbones,

      eyelids and lips

      The face of God is released

      into the public domain

      as if a mere taste

      of incarnation

      was never enough

The final miracle of the incarnation:

      It continues,

      Stare into the eyes

      of the stranger,

      the foreigner

      the mirror

      and you may catch a glimpse of

      the chameleon God

      in the cheekbones,

      eyelids and lips

      staring back

      Maybe the whole thing

      is a cosmic game of hide and seek?

      the body of Christ, composed of bodies

      is like a womb, carrying

      God with us

      hidden in plain sight.

Will Small is a poet, speaker and the founder of Lead by Story. He’s also the pastor of Meeting Ground Church, and host of the Spiritual Misfits podcast. For over 10 years Will has worked at the intersection of the creative arts and social impact, using poetry, film-making, podcasting and other creative mediums to advocate for a more inclusive and just world.

This devotional is the twenty-fourth in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2022. This year's series reflects on the hope and joy of the good breaking in with the birth of Christ. 

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