Don’t get me wrong… I love seeing family. I love Christmas
lights. I love snowy nights and Christmas break. I love Christmas cookies,
shopping for my family, decorating, and maybe this year getting kissed under
the mistletoe. There are a lot of things I like about Christmas.
The problem is, sometimes they get in the way of, well,
Christmas.
I could use any number or catchy phrases about where our
Christmas focus should be, but I think it’s better said in one of my favorite
Christmas hymns:
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.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
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.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Did you hear it? Can you see it? Can you taste the weighted
anticipation? Can you feel the deep
grief-laden expectation of a Savior? The
words seem heavy: "ransom captive,”
“lonely exile,” and “Satan’s tyranny.”
And yet, “Rejoice! Rejoice!”
There is joy in the coming Promise. Savior. Messiah. Emmanuel. God With
Us.
This is why I love Christmas hymns so much. They are a
reminder of Advent. Of Jesus’ arrival. A
reminder that He has already come, and the expectation that He will come again.
The profound words above are still true.
This world still faces captivity, loneliness, exile, evil, tyranny, and
mourning. And yet we have hope. He has come. He is here now. He is coming
again, just not yet.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
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