Hope in God-With-Us

[00:00:07] Hello, Collective Table Podcast. [00:00:11] Today I picked Matthew 1:23. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. [00:00:25] Emmanuel. God with us. [00:00:28] What does that mean for us as a child? I love the poem about God's footprints in the sand beside mine. [00:00:36] But as I've gotten older, I have felt God closer than that. [00:00:42] I have felt God in my breath and the breath of all the life around me. I've seen God less as the man with footprints beside mine and more as the alive buzzing of the world around me. [00:00:59] I have found God in everyday moments cooking or petting my cat. [00:01:05] For me, the God of hope can come in the smallest of packages or the most significant acts. [00:01:14] If you think about it, it's pretty significant that each breath we take sustains our lives. [00:01:22] God with us is a concept we can take for granted in ourselves and others. This practice of Advent provides space to pause and recognize God's presence in everyday moments of life, especially in the unexpected places. God's hope is with us in every breath we take as we navigate the world around us. [00:01:47] For your practice today, take five deep breaths. [00:01:53] Hold your breath for a moment in between, and allow your mind to dream for a world with hope. [00:02:04] What would that look like? [00:02:07] Will you pray with me, Emmanuel? [00:02:12] Thank you for your consistent presence. [00:02:16] Help us to see you in ourselves. [00:02:22] Help us to see the faces of those around us in you and you in them. [00:02:31] Help us to see you, Emmanuel, in the everyday moments of life. [00:02:39] May your hope be available through every breath we take.