Merry Christmas folks! 🙂 I’m going to get the cliche “this is my favorite time of year” line out of the way right off the bat here, so as not to torture you with all that sap.
CHRISTMAS IS THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR.
There. I said it. And I’m not ashamed. Anyways, I am really excited about this month for the blog because I’m going to try and do another little mini series like the “favorite verse” series. Over the next three weekends, I’m going to attempt to write a different Christmas-related post in preparation for most people’s favorite time of year. I may do a fun tradition-based post and a few other Christmasy type things…you’ll just have to wait along with me and see. So, as I’ve been thinking about how to kick this off, I contemplated a few different ideas. The history of Christmas is actually very involved, and to be blunt, the original intentions were to celebrate a pagan holiday in Rome. I know. Great stuff, huh? Nothing says “Christmas” quite like men in togas running rampant in a Carnivale-ish Rome.
However, somewhere along the line, the pagan worship turned into celebration of the expectation of Emmanuel. {thank goodness}
Speaking of Emmanuel, that beautiful name meaning “God with us”, shows up in my all-time favorite Christmas song. It’s a gorgeous song and I actually just sat down for the first time tonight and read through all the lyrics. Listen to this…
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 expectation of freedom from oppression was a reality for the Jews. They had been in captivity for hundreds of years, so the news of a coming Messiah, a Savior, was music to their ears. His conquest would not be a political one, but an eternal one. Without His saving grace, we are in eternal exile. Forever destruction. Perpetual separation. But what I have come to love most about this song is that it doesn’t just talk about the hope of salvation {which is incredible, don’t get me wrong}, but it also talks about hope amidst pain and loneliness…things we all go through at some point in time or another.
O come, Thou Dayspring 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!
A hope that goes right along with the hope of salvation is that of joy. Christ coming as a baby meant that the “gloomy clouds of night” could be rolled away. “Death’s dark shadows” would be overruled by the Light of the World. If that doesn’t make you sing out “Rejoice!”, I don’t know what will!
Let me tell you this. In the midst of the trials and struggles that life has brought, I am slowly realizing the joyful expectation of celebrating Emmanuel. It’s not about the presents, the mistletoe, the family traditions {sorry…another cliche line there}, but rather rejoicing over the advent of God with us. Christmas is going to be extremely difficult this year without my brother, but it helps ease the hurt when I completely focus my attention on Emmanuel. Our loved ones may not always be with us, we may feel the clouds of night shrouding our view, and we may feel like we are in a lonely exile, but God is with us.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Love Sees You 