Here is Your God!

 

Then Isaiah continues:

A voice says, "Cry out!"

And I said, "What shall I cry?" (Isaiah 40:6)

 

The answer that Isaiah receives is meant not only for him, but also for Jerusalem and Zion. The people of God's hands are to cry out to all those who are waiting for the return of the Lord:

 

"Here is your God!" (Isaiah 40:9)

 

Notice the exclamation point.

 

This is not a quiet, "Here is your God." This is a shouting, arms lifted and wide open, standing at the top of the mountain, screaming at the top of your lungs, in capital letters, "HERE IS YOUR GOD!" or, "HERE! IS! YOUR! GOD!!"OK, we're all comfortable doing this aren't we? I personally plan on walking into the mall tomorrow and climbing up to the top floor and crying out "HERE IS YOUR GOD!" Um, NOT! I am definitely not comfortable with this. I don't know a lot of people that are. I am not comfortable with shouting and I won't be knocking on doors, standing on street corners, or walking up to people in the mall. But it occurred to me that all this shouting is actually being done, although this type of shouting needs more than ears to be heard...

 

We may complain about the commercialism and the merchandising of Christmas, but there is a positive. There is the story. As the tag-line goes; it's the reason for the season. The story is still out there, and under all the multimedia lights and noise, if we listen closely we hear, "Here is your God!"

 

Let's look. Here we see the Christ Child, in the big inflatable Nativity display in the neighbor's front yard. There we see a candle in the window. Here are the twinkling lights like stars in the heavens. There is the angel at the top of the tree. And what do we hear? There is the music and carols that seem to hang in the air everywhere. Christmas is, to put it rather bluntly, in your face. There are signs all around us, the advertising, the decorations, the displays. These are the heralds, the voices that shout. There is even an infectious energy; a feeling of urgency and expectation. Time seems to speed up and we are plunked down in the middle of it all.

 

We stand in the present and are called to unite the past and the future. But we are not only called to tell the story but to live it. We can point out the symbols of Christmas and explain the history and religious significance to our children and to anyone willing to listen, but this story is not a flat story; it is not just about facts or history... its not just something from a book. The Christmas story is about a living faith and faithful living. It is the Christian story, one that begins with a miracle, an amazing gift, and continues on to eternity. We are active participants, our lives tell the story. Just look at what we do. We give gifts and time and ourselves. We welcome family, friends, and strangers into our churches and homes, making room for all. Most importantly, we embrace and share the immeasurable gift of love that our Father has given to us; the beautiful Christ Child, a speechless infant who is the Word; a tiny baby laying in manger, that shouts to all "Here is your God!"

 

Here is Jesus the Christ, Emmanuel; whose very name means "God is with us". When we say His Name, be it a shout or a whisper, we cry out, "Here is your God!"

 

"Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." (Isaiah 40:5)

 

Gracious Father, Help us to walk with You, to hear Your voice and to see Your Presence in our daily life. May we cry out "Lord Jesus" to all we meet, with both our words and our deeds. In Jesus name we pray. Amen