The Incarnation - Jesus Our Emmanuel What should be our response to the Incarnation? Worship and adoration. Emmanuel and other names of Jesus. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (which means, God with us) (Matt 1:23). God is with us, not 'God against us.' And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn 1:14). He is not aloof or ashamed of us, he came to be close to us. He desires to weep with us and wipe our tears away. He longs to share in and be the source of our joy. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus... is the spirit of antichrist (1 Jn 4:2f). To say that Jesus has come in the flesh has implications for us. He is no longer a God whom we can hold at a distance. When we acknowledge that he is right here with us it means that he is no longer a theory but a reality in our lives. Now I can no longer ignore him but I must respond to him and live by his Spirit each day. I must bow down to him with my whole life. (No wonder antichrist wants to deny he came in the flesh.) For, if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life (Rom 5:11). Yes, he died for us, but now he lives for us. There are so many examples of ways he lets his presence be known in the middle of mundane tasks. He calls us to turn to him, the Word made flesh, who wells among us to comfort, console, convict of sin, cleanse, empower and generally lavish his life on us. Other titles of Jesus to consider: Wonder Counselor (Is 9:6), Jn 14:6), Everlasting Father (Is 9:6, Heb 1:3), Mighty God (Is 9:6, Jer 32:27), Lamb of God (Jn 1:29), King of Glory (Ps 24:7-10, Zech 9:9). Our king is a righteous king. He was always obedient to the Father and blameless in his sight. Now he shares the throne with the Almighty One. He wants to call us away from the world to be a people for himself. Let's open ourselves to him this Advent and allow the King of Glory to rule our hearts. Prince of Peace (Is (;6, Jn 14:27, Col 1:20). The New Testament teaches that true peace comes through reconciliation. Christ is at work in us transforming our relationship to God as well as the way we relate to others. "Let us not allow (the enmity) to revive in us, but prove that it is indeed fully dead. Let us not call it back to life by anger or by the memory of injuries done to us" (St. Gregory of Nyssa). If the peace of Christ eludes us this Advent it may be because of our sin. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation we can present sinless and joyful hearts to Jesus and he will lead us into his peace.

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