“A strange mixture of pious study and blasphemous rant, based on the Episcopal daily scripture. Read with care!” The Theologian Online 2012
Daily Headline: North Koreans see rocket as salvation 
Isaiah 7:10-25
Isaiah Gives Ahaz the Sign of Immanuel
10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying,11Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.12But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.13Then Isaiah* said: ‘Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman* is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.*15He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.16For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted.17The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.’
Immanuel in Hebrew
Christians, since the writing of the Gospels, have taken the sign of Immanuel to themselves alone, by applying the ancient words to Jesus, with the aid of a mistranslation of the Hebrew word almah, young woman, into the Greek word parthenos, virgin. It’s possible that the whole story of the virgin birth is based on this error, along with the faith that Jesus was the “son of God.” But it’s evident from this text that the sign of Immanuel is more or less contemporary with the time of the prophecy: the young woman is already pregnant. She is perhaps a “wife” of the king, or a princess of the royal house. The birth of this special child will be a sign that God has not forgotten his people, and that times of prosperity and peace will return. The child, as proclaimed in chapters 9 and 11, will become a wise and faithful ruler of God’s people. “God-with-us” for the Judaeo-Christian tradition is not seen as a supernatural presence – except in the ancient stories of the Exodus-but rather as the gift of a specific human life. We too can discern God with us in human lives which show wisdom and justice and compassion.
There is a danger in this kind of theology that people interpret God’s presence as God-on-our-side. This is where Immanuel Jesus is decisive, in whom God is seen to be on the side of the poor, the outcast, the sinners and the humble but opposed the rich, the elite, the self-righteous and the arrogant. This suggests that God Immanuel is not uncontroversial but is likely to arouse hatred as well as love. T his is as true of the more local Immanuels of my life as it is of figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King.
Luke 22:14-30
The Institution of the Lord’s Supper
14 When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.15He said to them, ‘I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;16for I tell you, I will not eat it* until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’17Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, ‘Take this and divide it among yourselves;18for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.’19Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’20And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.*21But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.22For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!’23Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.<!– 24 –>
The Dispute about Greatness
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest.25But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors.26But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves.27For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials;29and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom,30so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Christmas open meal in Church
It may seem strange as Christmas approaches to be dealing with a text about the Lord’s Supper, but it seems appropriate enough, as any eating and drinking in the name of Jesus should reflect the pattern of the last supper:
1. It is the love of Jesus that invites people to the table where the depth of that love is openly declared. He will give himself, body and blood, so that his people may enter the promised land of God’s kingdom;
2. There is no place for inequality at this table. The worldly pattern of power and success must not be reproduced here. Luke does not tell a story of Jesus washing his disciples feet, but he does hint at Jesus’ humility, “I am amongst you as one who serves.”
3. Those who share the meal will betray Jesus but only those who refuse forgiveness will be lost. When Jesus says, “You have stood by me in my trials” he is offering his disciples an advance of trust, in the full knowledge that in the immediate future they will let him down.
4. Sinful as we are, those who gather at Jesus’ table are promised a seat at the heavenly banquet.
All this should be evident in any meal that is intended to honour Jesus, at Christmas or any other time.
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