Scripture Reading: Matthew 1:18-25

Many of us have read the angel’s announcement to Joseph in Matthew 1 so many times that we have lost our sense of wonder at the angel’s message. The angel quotes the prophet Isaiah and says, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ‘Immanuel’ - which, means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). In announcing the coming of Immanuel, God with us, the angel is proclaiming that after years of separation from the Father, we finally, once again, have a home. Remember Adam and Eve? Remember the Garden from Genesis 3? We were created for intimacy with God. But we gave that up when we chose sin and a heart that was separated from Him. We chose an orphan existence and mentality over an existence protected and cared for by the Father.

But, despite the wickedness of the world and the disobedience of His people, the Father’s heart for intimacy and fellowship with His people didn’t change. So He provided a way for fellowship to be restored; He sent Immanuel in the womb of a woman. When we read the angel’s message carefully, we are able to hear the heartbeat of the Father as never before.

As a child, did you ever sit in a parent’s lap and actually hear his or her heartbeat? This is the invitation the angel gives to Joseph. “Joseph, the Father invites you to lean close, to become still, and to hear His heart. For a Son is to be born who will ‘save his people from their sins.’ The barrier that separates God from man is getting ready to be rent in two after centuries of waiting. Immanuel
is coming.”

Many of us never heard a parent say, “Child, I want to spend time with you. I want to be with you. I don’t want anything to separate you from me.” But the good news is that, in the coming of Immanuel, we have the deepest, most passionate display of affection from a Father to His children. This love of the Father is the essence of Advent, for Advent is about pulling up a chair and becoming quiet and still enough to personally hear the message of the Father’s heart. Through the ages, His heart is to be our God, to walk with us, to talk with us, to live inside of us, and for us to be His people. It is to change our orphan hearts into hearts that have a home with the Father.

So the invitation the Angel extended to Joseph is the same invitation the Lord gives to us today. “Do not be afraid.” Do not be afraid of the child within Mary. He is Jesus. His name is Immanuel, and He has come that the Lord might be your Father and that you might be, in garden-like intimacy, His child. This week, marvel at the message of the angel...and take time to hear the heartbeat of your Heavenly Father.

Closing Prayer
Father, thank you for sending Jesus, Your son, whose name is Immanuel, God with us. We long for the day when we will see You face to face. Give us courage to wait for that day, and help us to walk in the Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love that is ours as Your sons and daughters. We rejoice in Your birth, and we eagerly await Your Second Coming. May You find us faithful on the day that You return to take us home. In the name of Christ we pray. Amen.