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<P dir=ltr><FONT size=4>In verse 23, we are given another name the
child--"Emmanuel" is added to "Joshua." The latter will be the child's
personal name, and the former might be thought of as his ruling title:
"God with us." When the book of Matthew closes, Jesus will say, "I am
<SPAN style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline">with you</SPAN> always"
(28:20). </FONT></P>
<P dir=ltr><FONT size=4>In fact, the phrase is <EM>ego meth
hemone eimi.</EM> Note that the "with you" (<EM>meth hemone</EM>) is
placed between <EM>ego</EM> and <EM>eimi</EM>. <EM>Ego eimi</EM> is the
divine name (in Greek) and would normally be held together. That
Matthew breaks apart the divine name in order to insert "with you" in
the middle is a way of saying that God's people are held intimately within the
very life and identity of God.</FONT></P>
<P dir=ltr><A
href="http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/12/18now-the-birth-of-jesus-the-messiah-took-place-in-this-way-when-his-mother-mary-had-been-engaged-to-joseph-but-before-they.html"><FONT
size=4>http://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/progressive_involvement/2010/12/18now-the-birth-of-jesus-the-messiah-took-place-in-this-way-when-his-mother-mary-had-been-engaged-to-joseph-but-before-they.html</FONT></A></P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>John Petty </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Though it has become fashionable in some scholarly circles to
suggest the story of the miraculous conception of Jesus has analogies with the
stories about the births of Emperors or Kings, in fact this is not really
accurate. A story about a god coming down and raping a human woman is of a very
different ilk than the story of a miraculous virginal conception through the
power of the Holy Spirit, not through any sort of intercourse.<BR><BR></FONT><A
href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=12/19/2010"><FONT
size=4>http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=12/19/2010</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Ben Witherington </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>What Joseph initially understands as the righteous thing to do
is challenged directly by the call of God to act precisely opposite to what he
saw and expected the law to demand. What happens when our notions of
righteousness and justice come up against the ways of God's creative mercy?
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=12/23/2007&tab=4"><FONT
size=4>http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?lect_date=12/23/2007&tab=4</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>James Boyce, 2007</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>In this post-modern era of DNA paternity testing and trying to
figure out “Who is the daddy?”, can this word from God bring about the kind of
reconciliation that will preserve marriages and the family unit? And perhaps
more importantly, what are the implications of this story for fathers of today
who find themselves in “blended” families where they must rear another man’s
children in their home? How must we accept, love and care for the children in
our home who are not biologically ours?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>A miracle, such as being impregnated by the Holy Ghost, may
certainly accompany what we call God’s “favor.” But honest, critical theological
reflection certainly reveals to us that anyone who has God’s “favor,” whether it
be Mary in the text or Barack Obama as President of the United States of
America, is also simultaneously burdened with the responsibility to endure the
subsequent fallout from the favor. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=121">http://www.theafricanamericanlectionary.org/PopupLectionaryReading.asp?LRID=121</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Jesse T. Williams</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>The magic of angels and the virginal conception are the
embellishments to enable us to celebrate that life of compassion and self
giving. In their own way they give us the radical message of inclusiveness: of
the women, of the Gentiles, of the sexually suspected, of the pregnant girl.
They lay before us the violence which grace confronts: the all maleness, the
righteous Law observance, the willingness to abandon the pregnant girl, the
murderous ruler, the slaughtered children, the aspiration to kill ‘the king of
the Jews’. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MtAdvent4.htm">http://wwwstaff.murdoch.edu.au/~loader/MtAdvent4.htm</A></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>William Loader</DIV></FONT></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV><FONT size=4>
<DIV>The fact that Mary is pregnant before she and Joseph have married is
shameful in the extreme - both for Mary and her family.</DIV>
<DIV>However, that the child is <FONT color=#000000><SPAN
style="COLOR: #0060bf"><FONT color=#000000>"from the Holy Spirit"</FONT></SPAN>
confuses the situation since that is a great honour.</FONT></DIV></FONT>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><A
href="http://www.holytextures.com/2010/11/matthew-1-18-25-year-a-advent-4-sermon.html">http://www.holytextures.com/2010/11/matthew-1-18-25-year-a-advent-4-sermon.html</A></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4><FONT size=4><FONT size=4>David
Ewart</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>- - - - -</FONT></DIV>
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