O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL!
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
who mourns in lonely exile here,
until the Son of God appear;
Rejoice, Rejoice,
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Today is December 23rd and we come to the end of the O Antiphons. Emmanuel -God with us. One way of looking at the Great Story in the Scriptures is that it is a story of lost relationship between God and his creation. Genesis, using picture language, speaks of God and Adam and Eve walking together in the cool of the day in the Original Garden. Due to disobedience, that fellowship (that “hanging out together” in modern parlance) was lost. This is what the hymn above describes as “lonely exile.” A colossal separation between God and humanity was the result. The Great Story is one in which God refuses to let this continue. In countless ways God has worked to bring about reconciliation and renewal of relationship.
Finally God determine to come near to us, to actually come among us, in a unique way. In the person of Jesus, the baby born in Bethlehem, God entered into his broken world and provided the forgiveness and restoration which make “hanging out with God” possible.
This is incredibly good news! “Rejoice,” the hymn says. We no longer are by ourselves outside of the Garden. God has come to us, sought us out, welcomed us back into relationship, and promises to restore us to a renewed earth filled with the Heavenly Kingdom. REJOICE!
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the Desire of all nations, and their Saviour:
Come, and save us, O Lord our God.
