ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHING
December 19, 2021
I love the words of James G. Kirk (not to be confused with James T. Kirk) who wrote about the concept of Emmanuel: “Your footsteps shall accompany us, your breath shall give us new life, your arms will console us, and your hands will be there to welcome us home” (from the book, “We Gather”). God is often described in grandiose style, so over the top that we cannot picture this divine being as anything but distant and unknowable. Yet in the word ‘Emmanuel’ our eyes are drawn to a young woman who shall bear a son (Isaiah 7:14). In seeing this, the people declare, “This is God with us!”
May your gracious presence, O God, teach us to be a presence of grace to one another. Amen.
