“Give Me Your Hand”

Isaiah 41:5-10; Matthew 1:18-25

My wife and I have known each other for a little over 40 years. We met in the music department at San Fransico State University, and after a rather bumpy first date, began dating regularly. At some point, I don’t remember when, we held hands for the first time. I do remember that feeling of her hand in mine, my heart racing, that feeling of, “Now I have a companion. I am not alone. Here is someone with me, whom I love.” It is a feeling I still have to this day, even now, all these years later, when we hold hands. I have a companion for this life and am not alone.

This morning’s passage from Isaiah also reminds us that we are not alone, that we have a companion for this life. The passage comes during a time of great difficulty, as the Israelites have been exiled and have lived in Babylon for decades. They feel as if they are alone. That sentiment is echoed in Isaiah 40:27. God asks the people, “Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from God. My rights are disregarded by God”? The people feel that God has abandoned them, left them all alone. Yet, through the prophet, God reaches out.

This morning’s passage is an answer to the concern raised by the Israelites who had been living in exile for 70+ years-"Where is God?" 2nd Isaiah’s mission is to tell the exiles that God is personally engaged with the people of Israel. Therefore, be confident that, even in Babylon, God remains a force directing events unfolding in human history.

The scene for this massage is a courtroom. The nations, all the way out to the coastline, are gathered, along with many of the gods people have worshipped. In verses 1-4, the gods, represented by the people, are summoned forth to defend their claims of divine power.

In verse 2, we hear of a leader who is victorious with every step. Who is this historical figure? King Cyrus of Persia. Cyrus sought to be the sole ruler of Persia, assassinated any rivals, assembled a powerful army, and began conquering neighboring nations. By the time of Isaiah’s speech, it was apparent that Cyrus’s next move would be to defeat the former superpower, Babylon. This was a time of great upheaval, as the entire area from Egypt to India was being recast politically. Cyrus quickly became a military-political genius whose empire was among the largest ever recorded.

Isaiah wants to relate God’s divine will as it unfolds in history around the people. God is involved in how the world unfolds. In this case, God will use Cyrus and his power to free the people from exile. Cyrus will defeat the Babylonians and then allow the people the freedom to return to Israel.

As verse 5 begins, we read that the people all the way to the coast are afraid. They see Persia defeating nation after nation. Fear and anxiety are heavy for the exiles, with Persia on the doorstep. In verses 6-7, as the people feel God has abandoned them, they fashion other gods, trying to find courage as they fasten their gods “With nails so that they cannot be moved,”  as if the products of their hands are what guide the events of history.

Then God speaks through the prophet. The God of the universe is intimately involved with humanity, with the exiled. They are not alone. God says, “Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God.”  A covenant with God endures even amid crisis and adversity. God is with us, will strengthen, uphold, and help. God’s hand reaches out to the people, letting them know they have a companion for this life and are not alone.

Theologian Paul D. Hanson, in looking at this section of scripture, writes, “The God upon whom the universe depends and by whom the nations are directed is a God who reaches out in love to all people and addresses us in terms both personal and intimate. Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”

In our second passage for this morning, we begin with scandal. I’m sure we have all heard the phrase, “First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage.” Well, things did not go like that at all for Joseph and Mary. They were betrothed, which likely means there was an arranged marriage between two families. Joseph and Mary were committed to each other, committed to becoming a married couple through this betrothal. Yet, we read that before they came together, that is, before there was any sexual relationship, Mary was already pregnant. Considering last week’s story of Mary hearing from the angel, Gabriel, about her miraculous pregnancy, and then heading for the hills to be with her pregnant relative, Elizabeth, perhaps Matthew’s story picks up when Mary returns to face the music. She’s been gone for a while and has come back to Joseph with a baby bump. This is not how things were supposed to unfold.

Joseph is silent throughout scripture. We do not know what he said as he saw Mary. We know that he intended to divorce her quietly, sparing her from public finger wagging and the further possibility of being stoned to death for her unfaithfulness amid being betrothed to another. He goes to sleep that night, greatly troubled at the events as they have unfolded.

Then an angel (Gabriel? We do not know, as this angel is unnamed) tells Joseph in a dream that, just as God had been working for the exiled in Babylon long ago, God was at work again. He was told not to fear and that, despite how things had unfolded, he was to take Mary as his wife. The pregnancy was miraculous; the child’s name was to be Jesus, as he would save others. Then, the angel quoted a passage from Isaiah 7:14: “ Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel, which means God with us.” God would be with humanity through the birth of this son.

 When Joseph awoke, he considered this dream, believed it to be true, and followed the angel’s instructions. He accepted God’s surprising way of being involved in his life, which was a very out-of-the-box plan as, “First comes betrothal, then comes a holy and miraculous conception, then comes marriage.”  God says to him, “Do not be afraid, Joseph, for I am with you.”  He is often described as a man of quiet faith, compassion, and integrity.

Rev Dr. Boyung Lee writes, “ Joseph’s response becomes about more than personal integrity; it becomes an act of courageous solidarity. Joseph could have stepped back. But instead, he steps in. He does not fix everything. He does not erase the risk. But he chooses to share it. He says, in effect: “You don’t have to go through this alone. Give me your hand.” This is not the language of saviorism but of accompaniment. It’s what we might call a theology of proximity— where faithfulness means drawing near to the vulnerable and aligning ourselves with those at risk, even when we are afraid ourselves.”

I find there are two teachings for us in this morning’s passages. First, as the passage in Isaiah 7 reminds us, Emmanuel! Which means God is with us and wants us to know we are not alone. God is with us, even when we feel like exiles, alone and abandoned. God is with us even when, for Joseph, life goes sideways and unfolds in fearful and complexing ways.

As I reflect on my life and how it has unfolded, amid all the surprises, pain, suffering, loss, twists and turns, God has reached out a hand and been a companion. 20th-century British priest and author Michael Hollings wrote, “God is as present as the air.” We may take that air for granted or forget that it is there. Yet it is always present, sustaining us and giving us life. God is the same. Do not be afraid, for God is with us, always.

The other reflection I have from spending the week on these passages is this. As God is Emmanuel, with us, we as the church are called to be Emmanuel- a demonstration of God’s presence to others. God calls the church to reflect that understanding as we reach out with our hands to those suffering and in need. As the church reaches out in God’s love, others find that they, too, have a companion in this life. As we do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly, as we demonstrate that God is with us when God leads us in our actions and words, the rest of the world sees that they are not alone.

This church demonstrated what it means to be Emmanuel last week in several ways.

• Through your generous donations to the Deacons, we were able to give 55 shelter residents at OHRA Christmas gifts of food cards, toiletries, socks, and other items, along with a card from our church letting them know we love them.
• The deacons also helped 20 needy families from Bellview Elementary School buy food for the holidays. Those families know they are not alone and that this church cares about them.
• One of our deacons left flowers and sympathy cards at all three synagogues in town after last week's massacre of faithful Jews gathering to celebrate Hanukkah in Australia. They know that they are not alone in their grief.
• On Thursday, our session voted to use the remaining mission and social justice funds to give $500 to the Ashland Community Food Bank, as food insecurity spreads in our nation. The food bank knows they are not alone in their work to feed hungry people.
• In addition, we gave another $500 to the Ashland- Sviatohirsk Aid Project. This organization is reaching out to this war-torn community in Ukraine and helping them amid an unjust war. Through this organization, the people of Sviatohirsk know they are not alone.
• Yesterday, people in need began gathering on our church campus around 10 am as they eagerly anticipated the Community Holiday meal and gathering hosted by Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice. For those few hours, people in need knew they, too, were not alone. Our church has done a good job this past week demonstrating that we are called to be Emmanuel out in the world.

This morning’s painting on the cover of your bulletins, and here on screen, illustrates both of these truths- that God is Emmanuel, with us, and that we are called to be Emmanuel outside our church doors. At first glance, we see God’s hands holding people. Rev. Lauren Wright-Pittman says in particular, it is an illustration of “…the Israelites far from home, living in Babylonian exile… The image that formed in my mind was a community nestled in God’s hands amid the Mediterranean coastlands- the same lands conquered by the Babylonians, and to which the exiles longed to return.” Yet there is more to this image.

God is not only holding the exiled from long ago, but also holding Palestinians in Gaza. Pittman continues. “God is not found in the hands of the powerful or the shine of idols. God is present amid the rubble, comforting the forsaken and reminding them of their place in God’s story. No matter which empire holds sway, God sides with the subjugated and disenfranchised. Despite the fear that causes the very earth to tremble, God accompanies the downtrodden, upholding them with a steady hand.”

So this morning, remember that you are not alone, despite how life may be unfolding. Emmanuel, God is with us, holding us as God is with us, so God is also with those who suffer. And we, the church, are called to extend God’s presence, also to be Emmanuel, doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly in faith. May God be with us as we extend our hands to those who suffer, to those who have been crushed by warfare, to those who long for justice and mercy and compassion.

Alleluia. Amen.