abide with us

The last line of the Christmas Hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem reads, "O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel!" I tend to forget that last line when I start humming that hymn. Instead, I think of a snow-covered Bethlehem somewhere around midnight, all quiet and still. Then I read the hymn looking for any mention of snow and find nothing. That image came from somewhere else.
I have that experience with many things around Christmas: I carry a memories pieced together from the market place, artistic representations, hymns from the church, and the story from Scripture. Then at some point before Christmas, I try to sort through the jumble to find that place in my heart that anticipates a connection with God. That part of me that longs for reconnection with God, who jumped right into creation be with us in the midst of the messiness.
I first started paying attention to that hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem," during some of my own

messiness, when I was feeling lost. I was in seminary in Virginia around my second semester. The winter rolled around and I missed Texas: my friends and family, as well as the warmer weather. As snow began to cover the campus, Laura and I moved into this gigantic Victorian home that was around during the civil war: we were house sitting for a professor who was out of town. It was the house where Phillips Brooks stayed while he was writing "O Little Town of Bethlehem." My professor showed me the room where he stayed after his trip to the Holy Land, where most of the inspiration for the hymn came to him. I was taking an Old Testament class, and trying to keep all those prophets straight in my mind. I didn't do so well on my first exam, and I wondered if I was really called to the priesthood or even make it through seminary. I sat in the room where Mr. Brooks wrote, and slowly read his hymn. I began to reflect not on my grades or whether or not I was called to the priesthood; I reflected on the reality of Christ's Incarnation. I considered a God who loves us enough to do illogical things to come dwell among us, to be close to us.
Reading that hymn then, and re-reading it now helps me remember the anticipation of people for generations: the hope of connection with God, and the unexpected ways that God shows up for us. Emmanuel means "God with Us." The hymn prays for God to come to us, to abide with us, and the name the hymn uses for God means "God with Us." What we hope for already is. The God we hope to come to us is already with us.
I am thankful for the challenges brought by my Old Testament (Hebrew Scripture) class. It was a struggle to remember who each of the prophets were and what they were about. The prophets, in their time, called people back to their relationship with God when they wandered away. When I was lost, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" helped call me back to what is most important: remembering that Christ came into the world to break down any barrier that would divide us, and that God's love for us will do that again and again, like the annual return of Christmas. My call not only as a priest, but more importantly as a Christian, is to participate in breaking down those divisive barriers. Christ's Incarnation, celebrated at Christmas, reminds us that God is with us. Emmanuel.
At some point before December 25, I hope you will take time to sort through the "Christmasy" jumble of market place, artistic representations, hymns from the church, and the story from Scripture, and find that place in your heart that anticipates a reconnection with God. Find the longing for God to abide with us, with you, and then realize that God already does. Emmanuel: God is with Us. Against all odds or logic, God is with us. It's what we celebrate at Christmas, whether there is snow on the ground, or not.

Originally published in the South Jetty