PART 4 OF 4
The physical presence of God in the Old Testament was always known as a Theophany. In Exodus 3:2, “There the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush…” reveals the Theophany. The name of the LORD is capitalized, showing that it was God Himself being present.
FR. RAMON MA. LUZA BAUTISTA, SJ
Summary/Transcript by Teresita Tanseco-Cruz
The God of Emmanuel
Presence. The God of Presence.
Matthew quotes Isaiah thus: “The virgin shall be with child and give birth to a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel,” a name which means “God is with us.” (Matthew 1:23)
When Jesus sends his apostles to the world, to baptize them in “the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” teaching them everything that he had taught them, he gives them the Emmanuel assurance: “Behold, I am with you always, until the end of time. Until the end of the world.”
That is why another word for Emmanuel is Presence. The name Emmanuel assures us that our God is never a distant God, never absent, and never abandons. He is always a God of presence who walks with us, journeying with us, rejoicing, laughing, celebrating with us, but also weeping, shedding tears with us. Similarly, the most precious gift we can give to those we love, to one another, is our presence, which means giving the gift of our time, our personal touch, our very self. And the gift of presence is never cheap; it is costly. It is demanding. In truth, there is so much power in the gift of presence. Just consider – presence affirms, presence comforts, and consoles.
Presence encourages
That is why the Lord will say :”It is I. I’m here!” He doesn’t say: “I’ll do this” and “I’ll do that.” He simply says: “I’m here!”
Presence instills joy and hope in others. Presence heals. Presence assures. It creates happy, precious memories. (From a therapist friend): The effect of memories is shown in the lives of street children whose bitter memories of the past adversely affect their lives as adults. Memories can make or break us. But good memories do not just happen. We need to invest and make them happen. That is why the kind and loving acts today, no matter how seemingly ordinary, may be the precious memories of tomorrow.
And how do we create those precious memories? By being an Emmanuel to one another. By giving our loved ones, friends, or people who may need our help the Emmanuel assurance that “I will be there with you. I will be present and walk with you, no matter what.”
The story of The Elephant Man, a story of the Emmanuel Presence
London, England 1884. A casual walk through the streets and a huge poster on an old building led respected surgeon Dr. Frederick Treves, to a show inside the building, exhibiting a man in a cage. His head was as big as his waist, his face horribly malformed, his feet and limbs awfully bloated. His face was devoid of expression. His name was Joseph Merrick, but they called him The Elephant Man. For the price of an admission fee, you could gawk at this “freak” all you wanted.
Dr. Treves did not gawk. He befriended Joseph Merrick, gained his trust, then operated on him several times, correcting some of his deformities. He took Joseph under his care, spending time with him, talking to him. Dr. Treves gave Joseph not only physical care but the gift of his presence. Taking one step further, he told his lovely widowed friend Leila about Joseph. Leila agreed to meet Joseph. So she did, and at the moment of introduction, gave him a bright smile, a tight handshake, and greeted him “Good morning.”
Joseph wept like a baby. Leila was the very first woman who had ever smiled at him, shake hands with him. In the loving and gentle environment made possible by Dr. Treves, the extremely grateful Joseph was transformed from a desolate man to a deeply consoled and joyful man. He thanked Dr. Treves wholeheartedly for changing his life and eventually went to his death, happy and peaceful, at age 27.
Joseph Merrick died having experienced compassionate, loving presence, having received the gift of an EMMANUEL presence…the powerful gift of EMMANUEL presence that we can bring to one another.
So there we have the three images answering the question posed in this written 4 part-recollection: What was the God of St. Joseph like?
St. Joseph’s God, our God, is:
THE GOD OF INTERVENTION,
THE GOD OF ASSURANCE,
THE GOD OF EMMANUEL.
He is always with us!
QUESTIONS FOR PRAYER AND REFLECTION
- Anything you found striking or inspiring in the sharing? (Any takeaways?)
- We said that our God is a God of Assurance – right now, in what areas of your life do you need to be assured by the Lord? Take time to clarify and present all these to him.
- We need to become EMMANUEL to one another- so that we can see and feel God in our midst despite our pain and struggles. Recently – who have been the Emmanuels in your life such that you saw and felt the Lord’s presence despite your struggles?