God is with Us

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Rev. Molly F. James, PhD
DFMS Noonday Prayer via Zoom
Christina Rossetti, April 27, 2020

May God’s Word be spoken. May God’s Word be heard. May that point us to the living Word who is Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.


‘See, the home* of God is among mortals.
He will dwell* with them;
they will be his peoples,*
and God himself will be with them;*
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’


Our words from the reading from the Book of Revelation resonate indeed. The home of God is among mortals. God will be with us. God will wipe away every tear. Mourning and crying and pain will be no more. Words of comfort and reassurance we need this day.

God is not some distant figure. God is not merely a divine watchmaker who set the universe in motion and then sat back to watch impervious to what happens here. No, God is with us. The home of God is with us. God is here. That is what the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus tell us. God is with us. God knows the fullness of the human experience. God knows our joys. God knows our sorrows. There is no place we can go, no experience we can have, no emotion we can feel that God does not know it too.

In these days where we may find ourselves on a roller coaster of emotions, where we may feel desolate one day and then full of gratitude and hope the next (I am certainly finding myself feeling a wide range of emotions), it is comforting to know that we are not alone. God is here in all of it. In the sorrow and the heartbreak. In the jubilation and the hope. God is here with us.

Today is a day we commemorate the life of Christina Rossetti, the 19th century poet, who is probably best known for composing the text of the hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter.” A hymn that emphasizes the Incarnation. That God is with us. God gave of God’s very self so that we might better understand the depths of God’s love. And Love is exactly what we are called to offer in return. My favorite line in Rossetti’s hymn asks what we can possibly give God in response to the gift of God’s very self. The answer is “my heart.” Indeed it is. There is no more powerful gift to give than Love.

God has created us out of Love. God has created us to love God and to love each other. And remember the amazing thing about Love. There is no end to it. It cannot be out of stock. It cannot be backordered. It cannot be designated as “1 per customer.” Love begets Love. When it is given, there is just more. The more we give, the more we have to share.

No doubt there are days when we feel weary and overwhelmed. We may feel like withdrawing from the world. That is not the answer. Or at least that is not the only answer. We need to reach out in love. We need to see love being manifest in the world. In simple acts of kindness for a family member or a friend. In generosity for a neighbor or a stranger. In the ways we support each other and keep each other going through all the challenges of these days. If we follow Jesus’ example and reach our hands out in love, we will find our hearts filled. Love begets love.

And in those moments of feeling weary and overwhelmed, it is also good to remember the rest of that passage from Revelation. The tears will be wiped away. Mourning will be no more. The first things will pass away. This is not how it will always be. This too shall pass. We will be able to gather again. We will be able to do so many things again. Not tomorrow. Not even as soon as we might like, but it will happen. That is God’s promise. In the Incarnation and in Easter. Love was first, and Love has the last word. Challenge, pain, suffering - it will all come and it will go. Love remains. Always. Amen.