God With Us
by Tracy Young

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. - Isaiah 7:14 There is a popular poem that floats around church circles - the one about the footprints in the sand, remember? There are the two sets of footprints, one belongs to God and the other to the narrator of the poem. The narrator notes that when times were tough in his/her life, only one set of footprints were visible in the sand. "Where were you?" she asks, assuming that God had disappeared when the going got tough. Of course, you'll remember, God didn't take off like she had supposed, but gently pointed out that the one set of footprints were when God was carrying her though the tough times. Personally, I think the poem is a bit saccharine, but I understand why it appeals and gives strength to so many. We crave God's presence, especially in our hard times, and the idea that God is there, even when we can't feel him, gives comfort.

The word Emmanuel means "God with us." This can be of deep comfort to us, like it is in the Footprints poem. But, think about it for a little while, and it can also start to be a little bit alarming. God with us? All the time? Everywhere? Frankly, there are some things where I'd be just fine if God stepped out for a while. Times when I'm angry and unfair. Times when I've behaved in a less than upstanding way. Times when I should have done or said something, but didn't. God may have been with me, but I wasn't with God.

God with us, Emmanuel - a name that brings comfort and caution. For if God is with us, all the time and everywhere, how then are we to act? When a family member hurts us? When a neighbor insults us? When a nation threatens us? If God is with us, what are we do to when we've let a brother or sister in Christ down? When we've wronged a friend? When we've angered a colleague?

This Advent season, let us remember with joy and purpose, that God - the Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace - is with us - and act accordingly.

Prayer
Immanuel - God with us - let us remember that you are always and ever with us, and let that knowledge keep us on the path of peace. Work in us to pursue the things that make for peace among one another, our neighbors, the world.

Pursue Peace
Choose one book on the subject of peace and peacebuilding to read during Advent and Christmastime. A few titles to consider: Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives for Justice and Peace, by Glen Stassen; Peacework by Henri Nouwen; The Little Book of Conflict Transformation, by John Paul Lederach.

Tracy Young is communications consultant for the Office of Social Justice.