Intervention

This year, Christmas has struck me in a particular way. I've followed advent and the singing of traditional advent carols in a more thoughtful way this time around. A few really hit home for me. Particularly "O Come O Come Immanuel". Is it just me or is this carol a really depressing one?

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.

The first verse seems to capture the mood of the carol. Israel was captive to Rome, a nation in exile, with prophetic promises unfulfilled, and an impatient waiting for the Saviour of the world to appear. There is a desperation in the words here. Mourning, captivity, "o come" - a plea to God.

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.

Death's dark shadows, un-cheered spirits, gloomy clouds of night. Israel was not in a good state. They were a good generation away from the last prophecies, and hope must have been in short supply. But they held on to a vague belief that God incarnate was on His way to save them. Ok they had more of an idea of political and war-mongering type revolution (which wasn't quite what Jesus did, he sort of trancended all of that), but they were watching and waiting in hope.

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.

Thinking further, one can see here that the people were in a woeful, miserable, unfulfilled sate of longing. How many of us have been in that place? Unfulfilled hopes, waiting on prophecy to be brought to completion, sitting in misery, looking to God (and sometimes everywhere else we can find..!), mourning, exile, an un-peace-able-ness-until-God-sorts-it-out.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The carol tells the Israel of history to wait, as God is coming. But we are singing back to the Israel of the past. The tense has changed. God has come. He did not stand by and watch his people in misery, destroying themselves, and being destroyed. He intervened. He came Himself, in flesh and blood, and encountered the human race first hand. He does not let His people go.

So as I read this carol I think with hindsight that we can "rejoice". We know God incarnate came through Jesus. He rescued His people in a way that went beyond what they dreamed or hoped. His revolution continues today in our hearts.

So this Christmas, as many struggle through times of difficulty, , at times feeling exiled from God's will, we have a hope that is celebrated in Christmas.

God comes.
God intervenes.
He doesn't just "stand there".

We invite His advent this Christmas for all those who are losing hope in their circumstances. There is a hope. There is a future in Jesus. Happy Christmas.

An Honest Prayer

I'm praying for you,
But not really for you
Because the things I ask God for
Are actually going to make my life easier.

If I really asked God what you need,
Would I say the same prayer?
If I really asked God what He wants,
Would the words trip so quickly from my mouth?

When you're so close that things affect me,
It's hard to know when care turns to self.
To know when I've stopped praying for you
And started praying for me.

So I'll try to be honest with you God,
And let my prayers be true.
I'll admit that I'm praying for myself,
Instead of praying for you.