O COME, O COME EMMANUEL

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel."  (Isaiah 7:14 NIV)

The hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is a beautiful and haunting plea for the coming of the Messiah. The word "Emmanuel" means "God with us," and this hymn captures the deep longing of God's people for His presence. As we sing this hymn during Advent, we join in the ancient cry for deliverance and hope.

"O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear." This longing cry of Israel is not just historical but also personal. We all experience times of loneliness, exile, and captivity in our lives. Advent is a time to acknowledge these feelings and to turn our hearts towards the hope of Christ's coming.

"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." This verse speaks of the victory that Christ brings over sin and death. The "Rod of Jesse" refers to the lineage of David, from which Jesus comes. We are reminded of the power of Christ to save us from the deepest darkness and to give us eternal life.

"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." Advent is a season of waiting for the light of Christ to break into the darkness of our world… of our lives. As we sing this verse, we invite Jesus to dispel the darkness within us and to bring His light and joy.

"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." The ultimate hope of Advent is the promise of eternal life with God. Jesus, the Key of David, opens the way to heaven for us. As we reflect on this verse, we are filled with the hope of our eternal home and the assurance of God's love in Christ.

As we journey through Advent, let the words of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" resonate in our hearts. Whether we sing this Advent carol in worship, or hear it while shopping in the mall, may these words remind us of our deep longing for God's presence and the hope we have in Christ. Let us prepare our hearts to receive Him with joy and anticipation. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry, compiled from a variety of sources based on selected verses from “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”

#6000

WE ARE NOT ALONE

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”  (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)

God is with us!

This is the proclamation made visible to us in the brightness of Christmas Day.  We are radically accompanied.  There is nothing in human experience that is not touched and ultimately transfigured by divine life itself.  Matter is suffused with spirit. 

We are not alone. 

-- Wendy M. Wright in “The Vigil: Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ's Coming” (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 1992, used with permission)

#5254

THE TRUE MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS

Jesus said, "Let us go somewhere else -- to the nearby villages -- so I can preach there also. That is why I have come."  (Mark 1:38 NIV)

Over the last 10 years I have conducted Christmas Eve services in some unlikely places -- restaurants, firehouses, football-stadium parking lots, and prisons. On Christmas Eve two years ago, I participated as over 350 people, nearly all strangers to one another, gathered for a Christmas Eve service of carols, candlelight and Communion -- in a downtown dance hall and bar. In this unlikely venue, I saw God move in the hearts and lives of people, most of whom never would have stepped through the door of a church. It was a powerful reminder to me that in Jesus, God reveals the intention to encounter us where we are.

Many times those of us in the church forget that Jesus was not born in a church or cathedral; he was born "off-site" in the dirt and dung of a stable for animals. He was born in the midst of the reality of life, not as in some stained-glass portrayal of a royal birth. This was a real God, for real people, in real life. That's what Emmanuel, "God with us," means.

The true miracle of Christmas is not found in the pageantry of a great Christmas Eve service. The true miracle of Christmas is the truth that God is with us in the dirt and dailyness and in the reality and imperfection of our lives.

-- J. Mack Strange in "The Upper Room Online Daily Devotional"

#5250

A SPECIAL PREPARATION

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”  (Isaiah 7:14)

It was not suddenly and unannounced that Jesus came into the world. He came into a world that had been prepared for Him. The whole Old Testament is the story of a special preparation… Only when all was ready, only in the fullness of His time, did Jesus come.

-- Phillips Brooks in “The Consolations of God: Great Sermons of Phillips Brooks”


#4733

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux writes of three advents. One is in the PAST: Christ was born to the Blessed Virgin Mary when God Incarnate came to rescue the world. One is in the PRESENT: now is the time to prepare our hearts for Christ’s dwelling. And one is in the FUTURE: Christ will come again in glory. During the Advent season I usually only consider the past Advent, Christ’s Nativity. After all, it’s complete and all that I need to do is remember what has happened and celebrate on Christmas morning what Our Lord has done. The other two advents require more of me. How do I prepare my heart for the Son of God to enter it? And perhaps even more difficult: How can I bear waiting for Christ’s return in exile, amidst grief, pain, and uncertainty?

In the advent carol the first step is to long for Christ. O come, O come, Emmanuel, God with us. We long for Him because we have come to understand the difficult reality of our situation. Until we realize that placing our security in anything of this life is fruitless, we will not be able to long for Christ as we ought.

“Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel” 

-- Haley Stewart, excerpted from her blog carrotsformichaelmas.com


#4489

GOD WITH US

"All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a Child! She will give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')."  (Isaiah 7:14 NLT)

God comes to the woman who feels in exile in her own marriage, for the man who grieves the loss of life dreams.  God comes to the child who lives on the street, for the parents who struggle to feed and clothe their children. God comes to the one whose loneliness or depression intensifies every Christmas. ...

Emmanuel -- God-with-Us -- is coming to us, to meet us wherever we are -- happy or sad, joyous or grieving, God comes to stand with us, whatever our condition.  And we thank God for that promised gift of presence.

-- Beth A. Richardson in Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas  (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2005) Used with permission.

#3779

THE TRANSFORMING PRESENCE OF CHRIST

Teresa of Avila reminds us in the opening pages of her autobiography that the best way to know and love God is to live in the company of God's friends. Those who have befriended God through the centuries have much to teach us about Jesus Christ. Their view of history is rooted in the conviction that the true turning point of time is the birth and life of Jesus Christ, and that life in every age can be understood only from the perspective of Emmanuel -- God is with us, now and forever.

In the two thousand years since Bethlehem, the presence of the living Christ has transformed human lives and transformed history. The same Christ is now transforming us and our time.

-- Janice T. Grana, adapted from 2000 Years Since Bethlehem

#3774

JESUS, OUR EMMANUEL

The prophet Isaiah spoke of a shoot coming out from the stump of Jesse and a branch growing out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1). Here is a tree tradition that reminds us of Jesus' Jewishness. Jesus did not just drop down out of nowhere. It is scandalous for some to think that Jesus had parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents; but the true mystery of the Incarnation can not be grasped without realizing Christ's full divinity and full humanity, which is so passionately expressed in the words of the second stanza of Charles Wesley's hymn "Hark the Herald Angels Sing":

"Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th'incarnate Deity

pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel."

 

-- Kevin Baker in Hail the Heaven Born

 

 

#3566

GOD WITH US

“All right then, the Lord Himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a Son and will call Him Immanuel (which means ‘God with us’).”  (Isaiah 7:14)

The sign given to Ahaz was a mother who would give birth to a child named Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” Contemporary ears hear “Immanuel, God with us” so often this time of year that we forget its import. One should never assume that “God with us” means “God is on our side.” As the verses following verse 16 point out, “God with us” can mean “God coming with judgment as well as salvation.” The presence of the living and holy God is nothing to treat lightly. God’s holiness exposes our sin and disobedience. God’s light shines in our darkness and illuminates our frailty. God’s righteousness stands in stark contrast to our wickedness and rebellion.

-- Kevin Baker in Hail the Heaven Born


#3340

GOD WITH US

"The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel" (which means 'God with us')."  (Matthew 1:23 NIV)

If we could condense all the truths of Christmas into only three words, these would be the words: "God with us." We tend to focus our attention at Christmas on the infancy of Christ. The greater truth of the holiday is His deity. More astonishing than a baby in the manger is the truth that this promised baby is the omnipotent Creator of the heavens and the earth!

-- John F. MacArthur, Jr.


#3336

THE DIRT AND DUNG OF A STABLE

Many times those of us in the church forget that Jesus was not born in a church or cathedral; He was born "off-site" in the dirt and dung of a stable for animals. He was born in the midst of the reality of life, not as in some stained-glass portrayal of a royal birth. This was a real God, for real people, in real life. That's what Emmanuel, "God with us," means.

The true miracle of Christmas is not found in the pageantry of a great Christmas Eve service. The true miracle of Christmas is the truth that God is with us in the dirt and dailyness and in the reality and imperfection of our lives.

-- J. Mack Strange

 
#2899

GOD WITH US

As a result of the emotional distance they experienced as children, many people develop an image of God as unsympathetic and emotionally distant. God is seen as cold and unapproachable. He is seen as being interested only in facts and in performance. People who have experienced emotional distance in their families may ask: "How could God understand my problem? Does He even care about what I feel?"

The image of the emotionally distant God is dramatically different from the biblical image of Christ, who is called Immanuel which means "God with us." God came and lived with us, as one of us. He felt our temptations and struggles and feelings. He offers an intimacy with Himself which includes the emotional closeness for which we long.

-- Dale and Juanita Ryan in Recovery from Distorted Images of God

 
#2891

SPIRIT-EMPOWERED PEOPLE

In our day heaven and earth are on tiptoe waiting for the emerging of a Spirit-led, Spirit-intoxicated, Spirit-empowered people. All of creation watches expectantly for the springing up of a disciplined, freely gathered, martyr people who know in this life the life and power of the kingdom of God. It has happened before. It can happen again….

Such a people will not emerge until there is among us a deeper, more profound experience of an Emmanuel of the Spirit -- God with us, a knowledge that in the power of the Spirit Jesus has come to guide His people Himself, an experience of His leading that is as definite and as immediate as the cloud by day and fire by night.

-- Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline


#2540

THE GREATEST GIFT (Expanded)

Note: A SOUND BITES subscriber replied to yesterday's quote (in bold below) wondering what parts of it meant. I have inserted Scripture (in dark red) to help explain what I thought the authors were referring to. Hope this helps. -- DW

Jesus is sheer, absolute gift of God. ["For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…" (John 3:16)] He is not a mere product of human history; ["In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." (John 1:1-2)] He is the humanity of the God who graciously identifies with us and shares our human condition. ["But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law…" (Galatians 4:4)] No less human for that, for God's solidarity with us requires His full humanity. ["For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily…" (Colossians 2:9)] But human as God's self-gift to humanity, as "Immanuel." ["'The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel' -- which means, 'God with us.' " (Matthew 1:23)]

-- Richard Bauckham and R. D. Williams in Jesus--God with Us


#2441

THE GREATEST GIFT

Jesus is sheer, absolute gift of God. He is not a mere product of human history; He is the humanity of the God who graciously identifies with us and shares our human condition. No less human for that, for God's solidarity with us requires His full humanity. But human as God's self-gift to humanity, as "Immanuel."

-- Richard Bauckham and R. D. Williams in Jesus--God with Us


#2440

THE GIFT OF PRESENCE

God comes to the woman who feels in exile in her own marriage, for the man who grieves the loss of life dreams. God comes to the child who lives on the street, for the parents who struggle to feed and clothe their children. God comes to the one whose loneliness or depression intensifies every Christmas. ... Emmanuel -- God-with-Us -- is coming to us, to meet us wherever we are -- happy or sad, joyous or grieving, God comes to stand with us, whatever our condition. And we thank God for that promised gift of presence.

-- Beth A. Richardson in Child of the Light: Walking through Advent and Christmas (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2005. Used with permission.)


#2213