O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Matthew 1:22&23
NKJV
22 So all
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through
the prophet, saying:
23 “Behold, the
virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name
Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
The holiday season
is in full swing. We’ve gotten by Black
Friday and Cyber Monday. We’re in a
frenzied time of buying gifts, decorating the tree and the outside of our
homes, Christmas programs and musicals, parties and dinners. Christmas in the 21st century is a
hectic time.
It was not that
way for the Monks of the Middle Ages. In
the monastery, Advent was a time of meditation on serious subjects like death,
judgment, heaven and hell. This time of
year was their time to reflect on His first coming and look forward to His second
coming. They sang seven Latin sentences
during the Advent time, five of these were put into a song and a chorus was
added. With its haunting minor key melody,
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" has long been a much-loved Christian hymn.
The first verse tells
of Jesus coming to His people. You can argue
whether this is for Israel, long held in captivity waiting their Messiah, or
the world, long held in the grip of sin, waiting for Christ to come and free us
by His death and resurrection. Both
views are equally workable. The lost
need Emmanuel to come to them. The
promise of “God with us” is the only hope for a lost and sinful world.
Verse two asks
that the Rod of Jesse come to free the captives from the tyranny of Satan and
free us from the depths of Hell. Those
held captive need to be freed, and only Emmanuel has the power and the
authority to free us from the sins that bound us.
Verse three calls
him the Day-Spring and asks that He come and cheer our spirits with His Presence. I particularly love the line, “and death’s
dark shadows put to flight.” When we
stand in the light of Christ’s love, the shadows of death and condemnation will
flee from us. It’s hard to fear the dark
when you are standing in the pure light of Heaven’s Glorious Son.
Verse four calls
Him the Key of David and asks Him to open Heaven for us. His death and resurrection and ascending to
the Father did just that. I still have
to struggle to grasp that idea. Heaven,
the throne of Almighty God, is open to me, born in sin and without the means to
save myself. When I go there, they won’t
search my baggage or ask for two forms of ID.
Christ has paid the way and the gates are open and waiting for me to
come in. Awesome!
Verse five calls
Him the Lord of Might. We are reminded
that He gave the Law and He still defines our boundaries. He calls us to live Holy lives and keep from
the sins of the world. We may not live
any longer under the Law, but we still are called to obey His commandments. We are called to live to a higher standard
and live above the sinful ways of the world.
The chorus of
each line gives a promise that is worth repeating: Immanu El, literally translated as “God (is)
with us,” shall come.
We don’t see
Him, but He shall come. We don’t know
when, but He shall come. Ready or not,
He shall come. The Blessed Hope of the
Church is this promise. He shall
come. This Christmas season, I urge you
to work a little time into your frantic schedule to reflect of His first coming
and look forward to His second coming because, as we are reminded, He shall
come.
Stephen Cram December 4,
2011 Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to
the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians
2:8
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