Emmanuel: God is with us.
The Child is born homeless because of a government program. God is with us.
The Child is sheltered because of a humble generosity. God is with us.
The angels appear to the poor. A star guides the rich from afar bearing costly gifts because God is with us.
The Child is God, yet helpless. The parents are human, yet watch over God. God is with us.
The parents are warned in a dream, flee, protect your Child from death! Hundreds of others were given no warning. Yet God is with us.
A jealous madman king plots to kill a nursing Babe, the Prince of Peace. By an earthly sword innocent blood flows like a river in the streets. Yet God is with us.
Being born that night, too, are babies blind, deaf, halt, and healthy children yet to be broken by life, whose parents cry into the night at the injustice of random dissolution. Some of them will some day meet this Stranger Child and cry for His mercy for God is with us.
And this Child will die, like all children do in time because God is with us.
God is with us and nothing changed.
Yet because God is with us nothing is untouched by God.
In all things, God is with us. Emmanuel.
A blessed Nativity to all, and may peace and goodwill reign in you as it reigned in His flesh
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As always, right on. I hope that you, with your family, had a blessed Nativity, Steve. And, may you and your family have a happy, healthy, adventuresome, prosperous and blessed 2023.
John
The highest powers seek out the most vulnerable, some fearing he might resemble earthly power, others honoring him and bringing what they valued to offer him. God is among and he’s not what or how we assume. But the stall even holds the ass.