“O Come, O Come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel…”
Dear Blacknall family,
If you happened to be with us in worship two Sundays ago you might remember that David Dunderdale said to the children gathered about his feet, “Happy New Year!” His acclamation was met with stares of confusion. And maybe the children weren’t alone in their confusion! That day, Sunday December 1st, began the new year as Christians have traditionally marked time. And the first “season” of that new year is called Advent.
The first hymn we sang that morning was “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” a hymn that for many of us officially marks the countdown to Christmas. But past centuries have understood that countdown very differently when compared to our own time and place.
In 2019 we mark the beginning of this season with something called “Black Friday,” and we line up for a midnight vigil at our favorite store’s doors in anticipation of the shopping discounts that await within. Or more likely we stare at our computer screens and take advantage of the online deals. Black Friday has grown into Cyber Monday and now Cyber Week! But the ancient church anticipated the season with a different call: to deepen our dependence on God, to recognize our need for a Savior, to remember his first coming and to prepare for his return.
The observation of Advent (from the Latin word for “coming”) began in the fourth century as a forty-day period of penance and preparation for baptisms at Epiphany (January 6); two centuries later the observance was shifted backward in the calendar a bit to the four-week period prior to Christmas Day. But the emphasis remained the same. In order to receive afresh the glorious good news of God come to earth, we need to prepare, to take stock, to carve out some time in the midst of the holiday craziness to ask ourselves, “Just what does the coming of Jesus into the world, and into my life, mean?”
The honest answer we hear may be, “Not much, actually.” And with that honest appraisal comes the challenge we face not just at Christmas but in every hour of every day of our lives: If our prayer is that Emmanuel would “ransom captive Israel,” what vision of captivity and freedom are we nurturing? How do we understand freedom when we do not recognize our captivity?
It is fairly easy to understand captivity in military or judicial terms. But the gospel understands that there are many ways to be held captive, and the more dangerous ones are the ones that look so “normal,” where we are, unbelievably, held captive with our own permission. You might have heard of “Stockholm Syndrome, an emotional displacement that takes place among hostages where they develop a dependence upon and even a love for their captors. Have we come to understand our own circumstances in this way? Mistaking our captivity for flourishing?
To prepare for Christmas is to seek, with God’s help, to recognize and then surrender those habits, those ideas, those practices that continue to hold us captive. To sing “O Come O Come Emmanuel” is to give voice to our need for deliverance, to admit that all is not well with us and the world we inhabit.
The very good news is that Jesus knows all this already; for this very reason he has come. He holds the keys to death and hell, and that is worth celebrating. And there is no better way to celebrate than to invite the Lord of all to be birthed in a fresh way in your life, that his kingdom may come - in us and through us to the world he loves.
“O come, thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan’s tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save and give us victory o’er the grave! Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come for thee….”
Our God is with us,
Allan
Artwork: Christmas by Ivan Filichev, 1991
Read more December newsletter articles…
Surviving the Holidays After a Loved One’s Death | Alice Wisler
A Letter of Thanks | Donna McBrite
Advent in the Library | Mindy Lance