Wednesday, December 23, 2009

God is with Us!

O GOD-WITH-US,
Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,
desire of the nations,
Savior of all people,
Come and set us free,
Lord our God.

Jesus, God-with-us, all compassionate and loving God whom we honor and adore, You have unlocked the gates of heaven and cleared the pathway for all humanity to come to You in the glory of the Father. Save us from the chains of sin and darkness. We thank you for the gift of redemption and look forward to the day of Your coming in glory. Amen.

Today we consider the second strange circumstance surrounding a Child who is God.

He is not recognized by anyone.

Let us think, for example, of the innkeepers at Bethlehem. If they knew that God was there in their ole place, they would have opened the door. They would have sheltered him. But they thought it had to do with vagabonds, refugees from who knows where, a pair of unknown persons.

And they did not want to receive them.

And we, would we have received them?

How could we believe that God wanted to present Himself to us in this form?















Chris Calabrese joins in the afternoon caroling.















Sister Patrice assists one of the Residents during Lessons & Carols.