Today is the eve of the eve, so tonight's Vesper's antiphon is the final invocation before the feast begins tomorrow at sunset, as is the Jewish custom. The word, of course, is from that central prophecy for Christians from Isaiah 7:14: “A virgin/maiden shall be with child, and will give birth to a son, and she will call him Emmanuel” (which means God-with-us).

God-with-us is a divine promise first to Israel, and through them to all of us, of God's unilateral faithfulness to humanity and God's eternal initiative toward all that is created. That's why we Franciscans said that Christmas was already Easter! Note that in the original text in Isaiah these words are spoken to pious and foolish King Ahaz. Yahweh has told him to “ask for a sign” (7:11). Ahaz is holier than God and refuses to do so, and so Yahweh takes the initiative, admitting that old Ahaz is “trying both human and divine patience” (7:13) and gives him a totally compelling sign anyway. In other words, Yahweh is going to come as an uninvited, unrecognized, and even unexpected guest, which is pretty much the eternal pattern.

To put it even more plainly, Yahweh says I am going to be with you whether you know it or not, ask for it or not, or enjoy it or not. God is GIVEN once, and for all, and forever, to the human species and to the whole created world! That is the meaning of Incarnation, the meaning of Emmanuel, and the first and final meaning of Christmas. (Maybe without fully knowing why, we centered in on a very prophetic text when we sang and quoted Isaiah 7:14, but like so much of the Bible, the text gets even more powerful when you read it in full context.) Now read it in the context of your own life!