"What God and 900 Pound Gorillas Have in Common"

There is a very old joke, with many variations, that asks where a 900 pound gorilla can sit. And, of course, the punch line is wherever he wants to. Without de-constructing the joke, we are of course referring to a creature that is large and powerful and can do pretty much whatever it pleases. Those of you who attempt to draw analogies to your own pastor after the service will not be dealt with kindly. When we come to church we are seeking an encounter with God. By simply saying the word God we are immediately focused on one whose power and will and character are beyond our comprehension. But one thing we are sure of about God. Like the 900 pound gorilla, God can sit wherever God chooses. But here is the amazing thing. God chooses to sit with us.

The word is Immanuel. You hear it constantly at this time of year. Literally it means "God with us." It has its origin in Isaiah 7. The word was used by the prophet Isaiah to reassure King Ahaz that God would not abandon the people during a time of dire political crisis. Immanuel, God with us, was to be a sign of God's presence. On this last Sunday of Advent, we gather as Christians to remember this promise and encounter scripture texts that help us understand the depth of love that would cause God to choose to be with us.

2 Samuel 7 describes a fascinating conversation between King David and God, all taking place through the mediation of the prophet Nathan. David has come to a good place in his career. He is politically and militarily strong. His enemies are no longer a problem. And David, looking around at his success, decides that he should acknowledge his gratitude to God and build God a permanent home. Now David doesn't want to build God some little abode, but something spectacular that will demonstrate the power and glory of the God of Israel. When David conveys this desire to Nathan, Nathan says to go ahead. But here is where the story gets interesting. That very night the word of the Lord came to Nathan with a message for David. Now you might think that God would be pleased with David's sincere desire to build a temple, but the Lord has another perspective. God's attitude seems to be:

"Why do I need a permanent home?" From the beginning, God was with Israel in a more mobile way. A tent and a tabernacle were the signs of God's presence with the people. When the people moved God would move with them. This was Immanuel long before the word was used in Isaiah. God was with the people, when they escaped Egypt, when they wandered through the wilderness for a generation, and when they entered the land of the promise. And now that the people have finally settled in the land, and are putting down roots, God doesn't want the impression to be created that the Lord lives in a big house that people can come visit if they want to encounter God. No, Immanuel means God with us, God coming to us, God choosing to sit with us. The message to David is ultimately that God will give the people a permanent home, but God will stay free and loose to sit with whomever, wherever, God decides.

A thousand years later a young woman named Mary received a divine message of her own. The angel Gabriel visits Mary and announces the news that she will have a special child, Immanuel, God with us. The perplexity of this moment is summed up in the young woman's question: "How can this be?" But ultimately her response is to trust in this God who has unfathomably chosen her to be the mother of this baby. God has chosen her, has decided to sit with her, and nothing is ever the same again.

These two stories have many fantastic details that could preoccupy us for hours, but that's not really the point. These stories, separated by a millennium and completely different contexts, share a message that continues to speak to us today. God chooses to be with us, Immanuel, and in that one word we find the ultimate definition of divine love. Neither story really focuses on the feelings of God, but instead they focus on the choice of God. The choice of where to be, with whom to dwell, where to sit if you will. It is an amazing thing, really. In a world where we define love by how much passion we have for another, or how warmly we feel towards others, the Bible says that God's love is defined by a choice--the choice to be with us. Certainly God has feelings for us. They are expressed throughout the scriptures. Those feelings include a lot of disappointment and anger, for after all, we are frustrating creatures. God's feelings are also tenderhearted and gentle, like a parent feels about her little ones. Still, the truest sign of God's love is demonstrated through this choice to be with us. Immanuel.

The Bible is filled with stories illustrating this choice. Whether it is God walking with Adam and Even in the garden, or talking to Moses high up on a mountain, or struggling with Jacob through the night, story after story conveys the unmistakable message that God chooses to be with us, even when we have done nothing to deserve that loving presence. When Jesus encountered a little man named Zacchaeus, high up in a tree trying to get a peek at Jesus as he went by, we see the meaning of Immanuel. Zacchaeus was despised by his fellow citizens because he was a deceitful tax collector. In today's psycho-analytical culture we might say that Zacchaeus needed someone to tell him that he was okay. If Jesus would just stop and reassure Zacchaeus that he wasn't as bad as everyone thought, then that would be enough. Instead, Jesus stops and says he wants to come to Zacchaeus's home, to sit with him and have a meal. Here is divine love. The choice to be with us, even in our sinful ugliness, and because of that loving presence we are challenged to be different, to be better, to choose better ourselves.

The Christmas season is one full of emotions. For some it is excitement and anticipation. For others it is joy and warmth. And still others feel extraordinary loss as they struggle through a holiday without people who meant everything to them. We judge the success of our Christmas celebration by what we feel during these days. Yet, on this last Sunday before Christmas, we come here to focus on the theme of love. Only in this case we are confronted with the strange notion that love is not what we feel for God, or one another, or the people outside these walls, but love is defined by our choices. This makes little sense to us who have been infused with the idea that love is tied to emotions.

But for Christians, who are called to love as God loves, who are challenged to walk in the way of Christ, we do not understand the nature of divine love until we understand this unique definition. For if love is only what I feel for others, then the people I truly love is minuscule. And if love is only what I feel for those people, then I am not required to do anything in particular for them. This is why a marital relationship can crumble and one partner seems so oblivious to it. One partner can feel love for the other, but mistakenly believe that the feeling was all that mattered. If love does not result in choices, in actions, then it is ultimately meaningless. This is the amazing lesson of Immanuel, God with us, that we are called to model. It's not that God doesn't feel love for us, but the thing that matters is the choice. God chooses us, to be one of us, to sit with us. And if this is love, this choosing, then our whole conception of what it means to love is changed.

Suddenly it is possible to love everyone, in tangible ways, even those we hardly know or like. Our choice to be with others, to sit with them, to do something tangible for them, is the sign that we understand the meaning of Immanuel.

But if we are serious about following the model of Immanuel, love by choice if you will, we should be aware of some things. First, it will take a lot of persistence. The wonderful thing about romantic love is that it is so instantaneous and overwhelming that we don't have to do anything but enjoy it. We "fall in love," as we say, and our lives are full of joy and excitement. Yet, when the feelings subside, or evaporate, what do we have?

A relationship that requires work, and choices, and many people are not prepared for that idea of love. The same dynamic happens when people feel moved to follow Christ, to dedicate their lives to him, and serve in specific ways. There is something wonderful about that feeling, that sense of being on a new path, and turning your life around. But for many the journey lasts only as long as the feeling. When the emotions are gone, and the newness wears off, they are left only with choices and actions. This is why persistence becomes a key to Immanuel-type love. God keeps coming to us, to be with us, even though we do a lot of things that must make God cringe. God's persistence, though, becomes a defining feature of divine love.

In the movie Mrs. Brown, Queen Victoria is sunk in a deep depression after the death of her husband Albert when her advisers come up with an idea.

They send for her pony to be brought accompanied by a handsome Scot named John Brown. She is not interested in being cheered up, and is infuriated when she looks out in the royal courtyard to see John Brown standing at attention beside her saddled pony. Day after day she refuses to go down. Day after day he returns. Finally she sends someone to tell him that she is not now and may never be interested in riding. John Brown is unmoved. "When her majesty does wish to ride," he says, "I shall be ready."

If we really decide to be people defined by divine love then we must be prepared for a lot of rejection, and many failures. If we are not persistent in our choices, in our actions, we will give up long before the fruit of our choices is seen. But if we will keep choosing to be with others, to be present to them in meaningful ways, then Immanuel may become real for them, too.

There is something else you should be aware of if you are serious about loving as God loves by choosing to be present to others and do particular deeds of service. It is dangerous. It is dangerous to your well-being and can cost you a great deal. Barbara Brown Taylor tells a story that illustrates what I mean:

"Recently I met someone who had been to South Africa to witness the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He had all the usual admiring things to say about it, with one new piece of information. All of the members of that commission are ill in one way or another, he said. No one has survived the process with his or her health intact. While a physician might come to a different conclusion, this observer--who happens to be a priest--is pretty sure he knows why the commissioners are all ill. The things they have heard have made them sick.

In their efforts to purge the soul of their country, they have listened to confessions so full of toxic material that their own health has broken down. They have encountered evil in such strong and unfiltered doses that their spirits have been deeply wounded, and the hurt has surfaced in their bodies. They have participated in the healing of their nation, at great personal cost." (Christian Century, 8 December 1999, p. 1202)

None of us will ever serve on something as momentous as South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but that doesn't mean that we will not pay a price for choosing to act with love. Ask the person who cares for a family member with Alzheimers. Ask doctors and nurses who care for seriously ill patients every day. Ask people who work in social services, who try to help desperate people in crises. Any loving choice that requires such a personal investment of time, energy, and care takes a toll. It can deplete you physically, emotionally, and spiritually. So why do it? Why love like this if it is so dangerous? If you have to ask you are not ready for this type of love.

Immanuel. God with us. We celebrate today God's loving choice to come to us in Jesus Christ, to be with us, to persistently chase after us even when we resist. That choice, of course, cost God a great deal. There was a lot of rejection in the future for that baby in the manger, including the ultimate rejection in the form of a cross. Yet, even with that danger, that cost, the One who could choose to sit anywhere chose to sit with us. That is love. May we have the courage and grace to choose to love in that Immanuel way.






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