Joan Osborne's song, "One of Us" which we have just heard asks us what would we do if God was one of us. How would it be if God were just like the rest of us, trying to make His way in our world. Osborne wonders if we would ask God our deepest questions and express our most earnest longings if he were "one of us".
It's a good question, but in many ways the question she asks "what if God was one of us" was answered 2,000 years ago in that cold draughty stable in Bethlehem.
For there and then, God became one of us forever.
God knows
What we celebrate at Christmas is this amazing idea that in the baby Jesus God became human. God chose to understand human life by becoming human. As that helpless babe grew up he understood more and more about human life. He experienced exile - soon after his birth his family had to flee into Egypt seeking asylum from the oppression of Herod. His family were poor - no doubt those gifts the Wise Men brought came in handy to support them in exile. When they returned to Israel they lived in the North, in a poor village. Jesus knew about bereavement - Joseph goes out of the story quite quickly and in his adult life only his mother is mentioned. He cried when his friend Lazarus died. Jesus experienced the joy of love and friendship and the pain of betrayal and rejection. God understands our emotions because, in the person of Jesus, God has experienced them.
Emmanuel - God with us
One of the main Christmas words is "Emmanuel" meaning "God with us". In the next 10 days as we prepare for and then celebrate Christmas we celebrate many things. We celebrate time spent with loved ones. We celebrate time off work. We celebrate light and joy in the middle of winter. But most of all we celebrate God coming to live with us, to understand us, and to lift us to a new quality of life. Joan Osborne asks what it would be like if God were one of us.
Christians answer, "He is". This we celebrate.
Amen.
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.