“Where’s God?”
Text: Matthew 1:18-25
12-25-2022
In the name of our Immanuel, dear friends in Christ. Back in 1961, the Russians launched the first human into outer space. Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the earth. I’m confident the Soviets didn’t embark on this endeavor for religious reasons. However, the leader of Russia at the time was Nikita Khrushchev and he was an avowed atheist. During a speech to the Communist Party, he seized the opportunity of this space exploration to mock religion by saying “Gagarin flew into space, but didn’t see any god there.” Khrushchev was sure that that God didn’t exist, so he was taunting believers with a question that the world has been asking for a long time: Where’s God? Over the centuries, all kinds of religions have tried to answer this fundamental question. Some have said that God is within nature; either in the sun, or moon, or the sea, or a volcano. Others have said that each human being possesses a little piece of God within us. And still others, like the Mormons, say that we are actually gods; literal offspring of God the Father.
The God of the Bible, however, is completely different than all these. Scripture tells us He’s a separate type of being than we are. He’s a sprit and therefore has no physical form. He’s also omnipresent, which means He’s everywhere at the same time. He’s not stuck on some distant planet, or in a volcano, or in an idol made out of wood, stone, or metal. And the Bible clearly tells us that even though mankind was made in His image, we are not God. He’s totally different and separate from us. His home is in heaven. But God is not aloof like some religions envision Him. He was not satisfied to simply rule over earth as some distant king. No, God wished to have a close relationship with the world He created. So, from the very beginning, God has graciously made Himself present among the people He created.
Consider the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3 says that God was walking in the Garden in the cool of the day. And when Adam & Eve heard Him coming, they hid themselves because they knew they had sinned. The text indicates that God was regularly present and communicated with them, face to face. They didn’t have to ask, "Where’s God?” because they had free and open access to His presence whenever they’d like. But now, because of their sin, that intimate fellowship with God was interrupted and ruined. It was also ruined for the rest of the human race who would be born after them.
The amazing thing is that even after this act of sinful rebellion God still desired to have a close relationship with His people. However, because of their sin it would no longer be that uninterrupted, face to face fellowship. Instead, God came to be among them with a “veiled presence.” You may recall that God used a pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud to show his presence to the Israelites during their desert wanderings. When that pillar of a cloud descended on the Tabernacle, or later in time at the Temple, they could see that God was present at their place of worship. But here’s the catch. Even though God was physically there, His holy essence was shielded from them. They were not able to come close and see Him face to face. The high priest was the only one who could go into the special area where God was present, once a year on the Day of Atonement. But his entrance into the Holy of Holies was clouded with the thick smoke of incense, obscuring his sight.
And yet, God was not content with this arms-length fellowship. He had a plan to restore the intimate relationship that had been ruined by sin. And that leads us to our Gospel text. There are lots of things we can focus on in those verses, but let’s turn our attention to just one word: Immanuel. In verse 23, Matthew quotes from Isaiah’s prophecy: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel.” He then explains to his readers that Immanuel means, “God with us.” Isaiah’s prophecy was written 600 years prior to Christ’s birth. And it reveals that it was God’s plan all along to restore His gracious presence among His people.
However, in the birth of Jesus, God came to be present among His people in a new way. As the verse points out, He would be fully human, born of a woman, and yet, He would also be fully God. St. Paul tells us in Colossians 2:9 that in Jesus “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily.” That’s why the name given by God through Isaiah was so fitting. Immanuel, “God with us.” The Son of God didn’t just take on human form temporarily to mingle with His people for 33 years. No, in the birth of Jesus God united Himself with human flesh and became one of us. People no longer had to ask “Where’s God?” because He was living right there among them in the person of Jesus Christ. His flesh and blood acted like a protective veil to shield sinners from His holiness. Christ restored that intimate relationship that God had intended between Himself and us humans. And it was made possible through His sacrificial death on the Cross. Through His death and resurrection, Jesus removed the barrier of sin that had distanced us from God’s gracious presence.
But we’ve got a problem, don’t we? After Jesus rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven. That intimate presence of “God with us” is gone now, right? No. It’s true that the physical presence of Jesus has left this earth. But now that Christ has re-established our relationship with God, believers can continue to enjoy the gracious presence of “God With Us” here on earth. One of the ways that we can experience Immanuel is right here in worship. Jesus promises in Matthew 18, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Looks to me like there are more than two us here, so guess what? Jesus is here in the midst of us!
That’s the reason why at various points in the service, I say, “The Lord be with you.” And you respond, “And also with you.” That’s not just a friendly greeting. We are reminding each other of God’s gracious presence among us right now, here in this earthly temple, a place He has promised to be present. But do we really believe that? If we did, then maybe we wouldn’t be in such a hurry for our worship time to be over. If we truly comprehended God’s presence here, we’d be more focused and keenly aware of this great blessing that’s going on around us. We’d look forward to each and every opportunity to be here with Him. And NOTHING would be able to keep us away from being in His holy presence together.
But it gets even more intense than that. Jesus has also promised to be present among us in a very special way in Holy Communion. Here, we truly have Immanuel, God with us. Christ promised that as we celebrate this Holy Supper, He is physically present in the bread and wine. Stop and ponder that, and perhaps it will shame some of us with how flippantly we approach this Sacrament. As we receive it, we not only have Christ with us but also IN us! You may miss His presence in the liturgy, or in the reading and preaching of God’s Word due to your lack of attention. But you can’t miss His presence as you receive His presence in the bread and wine!
When you leave this place of worship, that doesn’t mean you’re leaving the presence of God behind. Our Epistle lesson says, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:15) You see, in your Baptism, God Almighty came to live within you. And if you continue steadfast in your faith, then you truly possess the fulfillment of Immanuel, God with us. That gives new meaning to the 4th stanza of the hymn we just sang: “O holy child of Bethlehem, Descend to us, we pray; Cast out our sin, and enter in, Be born in us today. We hear the Christmas angels the great glad tidings tell; O come to us, abide with us, Our Lord Immanuel!”
Christian friends, that’s what we gather to celebrate on Christmas Eve. God has revealed to us the answer to the question, “Where’s God?” In that little baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem, God came to be with us. Through His incarnation, perfect life, atoning death, and resurrection, our close relationship with the Lord of heaven and earth has been restored! He came so that we could also look ahead to enjoying the unveiled presence of our God in heaven for all eternity. May we be constantly reminded that through His Word and Sacrament we can enjoy the fulfillment of Immanuel now, for He truly is with us in the mystery of these Means of Grace. Let us then lift our voices, praising God for coming to dwelling among us with His gracious, holy presence which insures our salvation for all eternity. Rejoice! Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!