Christmas 2021
A season of hope and joy…
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
I remember being a kid in church at Christmastime and loving the congregation singing holiday songs together. It was a welcome break from the standard traditional hymns and it all seemed so festive to me as I was full of anticipation for a visit from Santa and presents under the tree.
One that has been ringing through my head over and over these past several weeks is a song that traces its roots to the monasteries of the 7th and 8th century: O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Of course as a kid, this one wasn’t nearly as exciting as Up on the Housetop or Jingle Bells. In fact, I am pretty sure that I thought “Emmanuel” was two words or someone’s name or any number of other things than its actual meaning.
Now, as a kid only at heart, I understand that “Emmanuel” means “God with us.” And more than any present that could be under the tree, it is this word that brings me joy this Christmas season.
2021, like the year before it, has been one that seems to have worked overtime to divide us and make us feel alone. We’ve been bombarded with messages of uncertainty and promises of solutions that seem more like mirages than finish lines.
But this idea of God with us brings me hope. It is a constant. And it means that none of us are alone and none of us have to face anything without Emmanuel…God with us.
Here at Contract Lumber, our shared place of work, I have seen each of us face the challenges of the world with a hope and determination that humbles and inspires me. We are stronger for what we have taken on in 2021. I don’t feel frightened or anxious when I look toward our future. I feel joyful knowing that I work alongside a team of people that has handled the waves of 2021 with grace and can undoubtedly handle the uncharted seas of 2022.
Emmanuel is God with us both in the Christmas theme of a baby born to be God in human form and also in the idea that when each of us is kind, generous, and loving, we are reflecting the spirit of a creator who cares deeply for us. In this holiday season and beyond, I will continue to find hope and joy in Emmanuel with me and with you.
Jim Bieser
“The Almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby, needing to be fed and changed and taught to talk like any other child. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation.”