Posted on: 12th December 2024

Name Jesus, Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’ (Matt.1.23). But how is God with us? A clue: God became flesh and pitched his tent among us (John 1.14).

Tents remind us of holiday fun and festival togetherness, but it was not all sunshine for Jesus. He had ‘nowhere to lay his head’ (Luke 9.58). He tents ‘among us’ but the ‘us’ includes people like Herod and Pilate.

God is with us, because Jesus moves into our insecure neighbourhood. His being with us is not a static fact which leaves nothing for us to do. For him, it is a venture, a leap with risk worth taking, seeking fruit, a prize beyond a safe landing. So ‘God with us’ presses a call and question upon us all: Are we with God who is with us in Jesus? We may be glad ‘God is with us’, and yet not receive him, so that his way of living becomes ours. His tent is too fragile for our taste. So we bury our talent in the earth and give no joy to the Lord who entrusted us with treasure (Matt.25.14-30).  

How can we ‘receive Jesus’? He does not walk into our street or turn up in church. Reasonably, we ask, When did we see you living in a tent, Lord? 

Does Jesus weary of giving the same answer over and over? - ‘As much as you did it to the least of these my loved ones, you did it to me’ (Matt 25. 40). Jesus we do not have with us always, but the Tented Unreceived are forever with us and we can help them whenever we will (Mark 14.7,8).  

There are homeless people tenting on our sidewalks. It is even worse in Gaza, where bombed-out people see their tents swept away by rain and sea. 

              
(Links in photos)

This Christmas, and any moment of any day, we can receive Jesus in our response to materially, and metaphorically, Tented people around us.

When did we see you living in a tent, Lord?

Do we see you, do we want to see you, living closely ‘amongst us’, as you live life to the full, with such generous vulnerability, in action, praying Our Father…where the margin of earth is the margin of heaven?

God gives us this baby. God gives us the homeless and all sorts of fellow-creatures around us – God gives us Lazarus at our door, just outside the range of our interest (Luke 16.19-31) - in loving and caring for them, we receive Jesus (Matt.25.37-40).   

Billy Thompson in Leeds and Max Woosey in Devon, sleeping in tents every night for years, to raise thousands of pounds for others - with Jesus whether they know it or not.  

For love of the world, love including enemies, living for others, Jesus pitched his tent among us.  

Haddon Willmer writes more at https://haddonwillmer.me.uk/