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There is an ancient Advent hymn. It is called “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The song was originally an 8th century Benedictine Gregorian chant sung by monks. It is one of my favourite hymns during the Christmas season.
It is a song of waiting for Emmanuel. Emmanuel means “God is with us.” That was Jesus’ other name.
Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel. (Matthew 1:23)
The birth of Jesus was God being with us.
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Emmanuel will bring back people in lonely existence to freedom. Emmanuel will heal the hurts people suffer.
Emmanuel will bring peace to this world filled with animosity, hatred and violence. There is so much sadness in the world. Emmanuel will wipe their tears.
So, Emmanuel is good news to all of us.
God is with you no matter what you are going through. God will never abandon you. You are not alone. God is with you.
But today’s passage tells us that Emmanuel is not good news to all people. Definitely, Emmanuel was not good news to King Herod.
It was not good news for Mary. It was devastating news. But also for Joseph, the birth of Jesus was hard to accept.
Emmanuel brought the crisis to him.
Until then, his life was peaceful. Nothing much to worry about. Maybe boring, but no problem.
But Emmanuel disrupted his peaceful world. Joseph faced a crisis in his life. To Joseph, Emmanuel was not good news.
Because of Emmanuel, his well-established and well-managed life was thrown into chaos and crisis. Without Emmanuel, he would have married Mary and lived happily ever after. With no crisis. But now he had to deal with this problem.
Joseph was totally confused.
How could my fiancée be pregnant when we did not have a sexual relationship? He must have been disappointed in Mary, and even angry with her.
But he was a good man.
He didn’t act out his disappointment and his anger. He didn’t even blame Mary.
His solution was to divorce her quietly. Humanly speaking, probably, that was the best he could do.
But that was not what God wanted him to do. That’s why he sent an angel in Joseph’s dream. The first thing the angel said was, “Do not be afraid.”
Joseph was afraid. That is a typical human response when they face crises in their lives.
As he faced this incident, all Joseph could see was a problem, a crisis. Nothing else. That was why he was filled with fear.
But the angel showed him an alternative way of understanding the same reality. The angel showed him that what is going on right now is the work of the Holy Spirit.
Mary’s pregnancy is not just a problem and a crisis. There is good news hidden behind the problem.
Joseph didn’t see it. Joseph only saw the problem. He didn’t see the work of the Spirit.
But somehow, that dream deeply affected him.
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he was changed. His eyes were open. He saw the good news. So, he took Mary as his wife.
MY FRIENDS, GOOD NEWS IS BORN IN CRISIS.
When Jesus was born, he was surrounded by many crises. Herod killed so many innocent children in his search for Jesus. Joseph and Mary had to run away to Egypt to escape Herod. Jesus was a refuge as soon as he was born.
Jesus was born in crises. GOOD NEWS IS BORN IN CRISES.
When you encounter a crisis in your life, do not let your fear blind you. Look for good news behind the crisis.
Yes, crises you face may turn your life upside down. You don’t know what these crises will bring to you.
But remember, good news is born in crises.
God will turn your problems into new opportunities.
The Korean word for crisis is 위기 (wi-gi) = danger and opportunity.
God will turn your fear into faith. God will turn your pain and hurt into healing. God will turn your sorrow into joy. God will turn your despair into hope.
Yong Mi received this prayer from Cuba. It was written by a young woman.
A prayer of hope🙏🏻
A cry for hope
is the prayer we have left.
A constant fight
of battles that are not liberated.
A sorrow in the streets and in the houses,
that are adorned with so many absences.
A landscape of misery,
It hurts and it gets worse every time.
A look at the sky that asks for miracles,
freedom and dignified presence.
A need for the basics,
to barely live.
A song of few joys,
a walk with the soul in sadness.
A desired future
that has not yet reached the door.
A wait of life
who runs without even walking.
A health that saves,
for this life or for the eternal.
A raising of hands,
with the few forces that remain.
A half smile
for survival.
Such a great pain,
from the heart of this land.
It’s a prayer for my island,
a cry for hope,
a long-awaited dream.
Because dreaming is light,
light for my beautiful Cuba. Amen.
As it was, they had a very difficult time, and because of Hurricane Melissa, they are in the worst situation.
Water is contaminated. Many water systems were damaged. The problem of electricity is worse.
But they didn’t lose hope.
That’s Christmas spirit. Jesus was born. Emmanuel – God is with us.
No matter how devastating you may be, God will never abandon you. God will be with you. That is the only hope we live with.
Behind crises, God’s good news is hidden. Your crisis will give birth to good news.
We are thankful for Emmanuel. We cannot survive without Emmanuel. We cannot go on without God.
Let us trust in God, and let us not lose our hope.
I told you before. When I went to Cuba, I told the seminary students: Hope in a hopeful situation is not real hope. Hope is always hope in a hopeless situation.
May God bless you on this Christmas Sunday.
Merry Christmas!
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