“WITH” (Christmas Eve Service)

Three Pictures of Immanuel 

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist movement, on his deathbed, cried out with all his remaining strength, “The best of all is, God is with us.” God’s presence is the greatest gift God gives his people. God is personally near. Tonight I want to show you three pictures to help us understand the true meaning of “Immanuel,” God-with-us.

God Created Us

If you have a chance to go to Vatican City, you don’t want to miss this one, The creation of Adam, painted by Michelangelo. On the right side of the fresco, God extends his hand towards Adam, leaning towards him, reaching towards him as much as possible. Michelangelo painted this scene with vibrant colors to describe God as a dynamic, active figure. He comes to our place. He is personally near to us. On the left side of this fresco, we see Adam lean backwards with passive, reserved, lazy posture. Unlike God, we don’t seek him, nor desire him (Rom 3:11). Another point is that Adam’s finger and God’s finger is not touching. There is space. Why is that? Free will. God did give Adam free will to choose to obey or disobey him. But Adam let go of God. He chose independence, separation from God.

God With Us
But God still comes to us, near to us, and with us. How do we

know? How do we know that God does care about us? The second picture answers this question. Probably, some of you in this room have been to Niagara Falls. Suppose you are now standing before Niagara Falls. Probably you stand in awe. You are moved to admiration by its beauty. No one would just ignore it and pass by. When I was there for the first time, it was late night. I just had to stand there to watch for a long while. Then, where does that beauty come from? What attracts us, compels us to stop and stand there? The difference in elevation – 50-yard head of water. The Son of God became human. The Creator became a created being. He gave up all his divine privilege and glory and left his heavenly throne. He was born as a child – maybe 7 or 8 pounds in weight, unable to feed himself, unable to speak, wearing diapers, totally dependent on his parents. He never skipped any part of human life. The Son of God Almighty became limited by space and time. Why? Because of love. It’s radical love. He did all this to reach us, to communicate to us in our language, to save us from sin and death. In Jesus God has come to us to live with us and in us.

God Recreates Us

As we begin to grasp this mystery of incarnation, “God became human” to be with us, it changes everything! The third picture tells us what happens to us when we believe and dwell in this truth. At the Royal Palace of Tehran in Iran, you can see one of the most
beautiful mosaic works in the world. The ceilings and walls flash like diamonds with multifaceted reflections. Originally, when the palace was designed, the architect specified huge sheets of mirrors on the walls. When the first shipment arrived from Paris, they found that the mirrors were shattered. But amazingly, the architect ordered all of the broken pieces collected, then smashed them into tiny pieces and glued them to the walls to become a mosaic of silvery, shimmering, mirrored bits of glass.[1]

Broken into beautiful. Somehow we are all broken; our beautiful image of God is damaged, even destroyed because of our sin. We have made wrong choices. And we see the consequences. But God is able to take our broken piece and turn them into something beautiful. He recreates us. How does he do that? Where do we start? God is always ready. He is always near. He meets us where we are. Jesus found Peter while he was still living a sinful, powerless life, suffering from a vicious cycle (Luke 5:8). But he said to him, “Don’t be afraid. Follow me! From now on you will be catching men! You will do a fresh start!” And Peter left everything and followed him. Jesus also found Matthew sitting at his tax collector’s booth, and said to him, “Follow me!” So Matthew got up and followed him.

Still today Jesus comes to us, in order to be with us. He is seeking out us gently and actively. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Do you hear him knocking the door of your heart? Let us open the door and say, “O come, O come, Emmanuel!” And he will come in and live with us, and he will make something beautiful out of us. Amen.


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[1] “Saving the Broken Pieces,” God’s Work Ministry, http://www.godswork.org/emailmessage147.htm