It took a year to read the Bible, then almost 9 months to read the Apocrypha. Now, I'm going to try to offer reflections on the Narrative Lectionary. But, I won't be posting daily--at least, for a while.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Emmanuel, a Reflection on Matthew 1:22-25

The angel of the Lord told Joseph to name the child Jesus, a name that means "God saves." Matthew adds the quotation from Isaiah 7 that cites the announcement of a birth of a child centuries before that was to demonstrate the rescue of God's people.

Fred Craddock, in Preaching through the Christian Year A says:
Isaiah 7:14 was in its original context a promise and a fulfillment, and so is it here in a new setting. Here, however, the fulfillment is more broadly understood than in its context in Isaiah, for here the word "Emmanuel" capsules the central meaning of Jesus as son of David and Son of God: "God with us." That is the promise containing all promises, the fulfillment containing all fulfillments.
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