This Christmas season, I've been meditating a lot on God incarnate, Emmanuel, God with Us. As a Christian trying to follow Jesus for most of my life, I suppose I should be used to this idea by now. But it's just so surprising to me – God sent a baby to bring God's kingdom about on Earth as it is in Heaven.

As the song Strange Way to Save the World says, "Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world."

And if that wasn't crazy enough, God invites us to be part of this kingdom-ushering work. In the prayer our Lord taught us, we pray, "Lord, your kingdom come / Your will be done / on Earth as it is in Heaven."

Sometimes I think that we focus too much on getting people into Heaven and not enough on getting Heaven into people – people here on Earth. But that's exactly what God did with Jesus. God sent Heaven to people on Earth –  Emmanuel, God with Us. 

 In our work with the 28twelve Foundation and the Harvey Fellows Program we seek to be co-laborers with Christ in the redemptive work of bringing God's kingdom in its fullness on Earth as it is in Heaven. 

At the risk of being redundant, "this is such a strange way to save the world." 

 First a baby, and now us? We're the ones God wants to help finish the restoring of God's kingdom? We're called to help bring about God's redeeming justice? God chose us for this work? Really? Us? 

 Yes! Us! "For we are God's handiwork, created for good work in Christ Jesus, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10).

May God remind us that the work to which God has called each of us is kingdom-ushering work. Indeed may God's kingdom come... on earth as it is in Heaven.