56. With you always
Matthew 28:20And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
The Gospel of Matthew begins with Immanuel, “God with us,” and ends with the promise that Jesus will be with us always. Jesus came from the Father to be “with us,” indeed, to be God with us. Now resurrected from the dead He lives forever and promises to be “with us always, even unto the end of the world.” Jesus with us = God with us; for Jesus is God.
The incarnation of God in the flesh on our earth is an amazing mystery and miracle. God, the Second person of the Trinity, and a human being, born of the Virgin Mother, is united in the Person of Jesus Christ; this is a mystery. Now in this age, after the Resurrection and before the Second Coming, this God-man will be dwelling in us as the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity; this is a mystery. “God with us” is a mystery from beginning (Christmas) to end (Easter).
We will never, even in eternity, be able to fully comprehend: 1) The Trinity, 2) The Person of Christ, 3) the union of God and us. What does “I am with you” mean? It means dwelling in us, making our spirits continually alive. It means surrounding us, as a halo and protective shield to guard and keep us, to help and guide us. It means the Presence of God in us and around us all the time to bless. How all that “in, with, and around” works out is beyond our ability to comprehend. But however we see it or understand it the promise is still believed.
Jesus will be with us in another special way for the forgiveness of sins whenever Holy Communion is celebrated according to the Gospel; for in it the Body and Blood of Christ is “in, with, and under” the bread and wine. This, too, is a mystery for us to be believed and received by faith. We do not see or feel the power of the Presence of Jesus in Communion, in the Gospel, or in our daily lives, but the power is present in truth and reality whether we believe it or not, because He promised.