December 17, 2025
Advent Blessings of Hope,
Have you ever had a dream that was so real? A dream that stirred you to make a decision you had not even considered making?
This Sunday we will hear about the dream Joseph had regarding a conversation he had with an angel about his upcoming wedding to Mary. The angel will give Joseph a direction and an instruction that would fulfil the words of the prophet, “Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.” Have you ever considered what does it mean for God to be with us?
I was having this conversation with a friend recently. She shared that while Christmas shopping, she was interacting with a little girl that she encountered while on the check-out line. The girl was speaking Spanish and my friend shared that sadly she can only say a few phrases. Yet they were able to communicate and they were laughing and connecting.
My friend shared that she noticed that the coat the girl was wearing was two sizes too small. My friend said that seeing this broke her heart. She couldn't imagine this little girl, waiting in the morning for the bus, wearing this tiny jacket that didn't cover her arms and left her skin exposed to the cold.
She wanted desperately to go up to the girl's mother and father and offer to buy the child a new coat. But she was concerned how the gesture might make them feel.
As she was checking out, she had an idea! She asked the sales associate if they had gift cards. The woman pointed them out and my friend purchased a gift card. As the sales associate passed the purchased items back to my friend, she told the associate that the gift card was for the family who was checking out behind her. The associate smiled and said, “Thank you."
I asked her if she had ever done anything like that before? She said she had thought about it, but was never moved to act. That day, seeing that child, something changed inside of her.
Her story spoke to my heart. This is Emmanuel - God with us. Being seen and shown love when you are feeling alone and unseen - this is the unspoken presence of God with us. When God called you to do something unexpected? "The call will not come so grandly, so biblically, but intimately, in the face of the one who you know you have to love." David Whyte
I hope you share this story of hope and Emmanuel with others.
May peace abound this Advent,
Pastor JJ
