100 grim reapers

Christmas (i guess) is here, friends. have you put your tree up yet? while driving home from thanksgiving dinner with my sister and her wonderful husband in southern Ohio, i managed to listen to some pretty life changing radio. the options were early '80s Poison or a radio-vangelist; of course i chose the preacher. he seemed like he was probably a big guy, a little slow, but knew how to handle himself.
what kept me tuned in was his addictive voice. kind of slow, bland, a little southern, and with a hidden lisp; i was stuck trying to find his lisp slipping in and out. he was talking about the Tabernacle...i think his primary goal was to draw some conclusions about the movements of the early tabernacle and the of gathered saints, but i didn't let him get that far. when he started describing the 'holy of hollies' i turned the radio off. mentioning the 'mercy seat' nailed me in the gut.
when we are our most vulnerable, most in danger of being destroyed...right next to the wrath we've been told is God, there is mercy. this speaks volumes about God's character. when Isaiah stands at the mouth of the cave, waiting for God to pass by, he hears a whisper. the Hebrew term for Isaiah's experience literally refers to an unheard sound...something so deep, so close, so loudly inaudible the earth stops spinning.
anyone can yell...you standing on the opposite side of a field, me getting your attention. God causing the wind to break trees, toppling down mountains. but he chose a whisper. if i whisper to you in an open field, we have to be pretty darn close to each other; my arms finding their way around your shoulders in a quiet embrace.

(selah)

the thunderous voice of God, destroying and consuming, doesn't come raining down on Isaiah, demanding worship and devotion; offering slavery or death...God softly embraces Isaiah and says "my child"

i think the character and nature of God have been terribly misunderstood and misinterpreted. i presented this idea to a group of friends a week ago, and surprisingly, i was not stoned. this is something that is still being worked out and will be dealt with later.

this closeness, this longing for closeness brings me naturally to the idea of Immanuel. God with us. for centuries the Jewish people were looking for their Immanuel, their God With Us. they were convinced their Immanuel would come to them bearing the sword of David, wiping the earth free of evil and unbelief. he would reign as king and ruler. but what did they actually do when God was actually with them?  they killed him, right?

people refused to accept this God With Us. he wasn't leading a violent revolution against their Roman oppressors, he hadn't claimed the throne of David...he quietly asked people to believe in a new way.  a more hidden way. Jesus asked people to embrace the true nature of God.

but really, no one could...can we now? Jesus said that God cared for the people of this world so much he could never force his way in; never turn the mountains on their heads...he  came with just a quiet, honest whisper.

after Jesus' death and resurrection, Jesus promises to return. the God With Us disappears. Act 1 ends, forcing the disciple's to begin their own Act 2 deprived of the physical presence of their Immanuel...but where did this God With Us go?

just like the Jews, we have been taught that when Immanuel returns, the world will be turned on its head, the King Eternal will reign forever and ever. and just like the Jews of Jesus' time, we hold to this belief with our entire lives..."when the good lord returns." 

let me make a plea:

maybe Immanuel is here. maybe we've missed him somewhere. is God With Us? where have we been looking? in the sky? Jesus said that looking to the sky 'for signs of the end' was stupid. perhaps, if we turn our gaze down towards the earth, we'll see God With Us...we'll see the face of Jesus, waiting to gently embrace us...asking us to try on love for a change...asking us to change our ways.  maybe we'll finally realize that God is still With Us.  

the clouds aren't going to split.  the ground won't shake...

The Kingdom of Heaven is here.

are we being just like the pious Jews of Jesus' time?

in Peace and Love, thank you friends.

Alex Petz