Immanuel is not just for Christmas songs

I'm not sure that I have ever head the word "Immanuel" used in an Easter sermon. It seems a shame that we focus on this powerful description of Jesus (Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 7:14) only during the Christmas season. Usually, we speak of Immanuel in terms of the arrival of Jesus, born of the virgin in Bethlehem and then we don't revisit those thoughts until next December. Today, I have been thinking about how God was with us when He knelt down in front of disciples and washed their feet. God was with us when he agonized and prayed in the garden as His friends slept. God was with us as He was hit, whipped and spat upon. God was with us as He was crucified. Moltmann's classic title describes the scene: "The Crucified God". God was with us when He demonstrated life beyond the grave. And before He ascended to heaven he spoke with human lips and was heard by human ears, "I will never leave you". His words to us, "I am with you, always".