John 1:1-18 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.
Psalm 130:5-8 I wait for the Lord
Chrismon – Chi-Rho
And Lived Among Us
Things change when someone comes to live with us. They change when we have company for the weekend. They change when we host a missionary, or a student. Things change when we bring a child home as our child. Things change when we welcome our parents into our home, or move our homes into their homes. Sometimes we want the guests, and sometimes we remember the words attributed to Mark Twain, that “house guests, like fish, go bad after three days.”
That thought brings us to the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. As John writes, the Word became flesh and lived among us. Immanuel, God with us, moves into the neighborhood. And stays. God moves right in, buys a home, builds relationship, and sticks around. God sticks around in Jesus
long enough to make us uncomfortable. God sticks around long enough for us to stop being polite and treating God like company. God sticks around long enough for us to have a real relationship.
As we await company that comes and goes at the holiday, as travel to be with family and friends, think about what it means that Immanuel comes here to stay, to live, to teach, to heal, to challenge, to die, and to rise. God moves in, because God’s not going anywhere. Can you feel the sense of change that happens when Christ comes to town?
