I love singing Christmas songs this time of year. I sing them when I’m driving, when I’m baking, when I’m cleaning. Pretty much all day long. This morning, I heard, “O Come O Come Emmanuel.” The melody, the lyrics – they are beautiful and poignant.
Curious about the background, I did a bit of research. The life of this hymn begins about 1200 years ago as a song sung by monks seven days before Christmas Eve. Reading the five stanzas, I can see how it would ready the monks spiritually for Christmas. Several hundred years later, John Mason Neale found the Latin hymn and translated it into the version that we currently know (1851).
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Oh how the Jewish people must have wanted Emmanuel to come so long ago as the Romans were bearing down on them. Knowing the Old Testament, they would have been familiar with Isaiah 7:14.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
What they were looking for was a King that would come and save them from this oppression, but God had a different plan. This Rod of Jesse, this Dayspring, this Key of David, this Adonai would be a Messiah – to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Thank goodness Jesus did come on that cold night in Bethlehem. The Savior of the world lived and died and rose again that I may know the Truth and have everlasting Life.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
Sometimes, I find myself thinking – O Come O Come Emmanuel. When will you return and take your children away? Sometimes the gloomy clouds and darks shadows make me yearn for this day. But, until then, we have a job to do. We are to tell others about the Way, the Truth, the Life. A light to the world – was given to us so long ago – so that the gloomy clouds would disperse, so that we would have joy in those dark shadows.
But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
2 Timothy 4:5
Do not be afraid – remember the angels told that to the shepherds. So they hurried off to the City of David, they saw something that changed their lives forever. What did they do?
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
Luke 2:17-18
The shepherds spread the word and all who heard it were amazed. Jesus told us to do the same – go and tell. Let us be faithful to do this each and every day.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for that Christmas so long ago when your Son left heaven to join us, to save us. Let us rejoice this Christmas day as the shepherds did so long ago and spread the word and be amazed at what You can do. Amen.
Resources used for background:
History of Hymns: “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
The (Hidden Theology and the History of O Come O Come Emmanuel
Merry Christmas!
