Welcome! It’s December the 15th, and we’re continuing with our very first Redeemer Digital Advent Calendar! This year, in the lead up to Christmas, we’ll be producing daily content which we hope blesses you, encourages you, and reminds you of the hope that we can celebrate this Christmas!
We’re continuing today with the third of 4 Advent blogs which will be released every Tuesday until Christmas and will make up a series called ‘Sounds of the Season’. Each week we will be taking the opportunity to appreciate the deeper meaning behind Christmas music, with a focus on a specific Christmas carol that helps to shed light on the true meaning of this Christmas season.
Today, we look at another great carol - O Come, O Come Emmanuel! You can hear a version below.
One of the reasons I look forward to carol services each Christmas is that without fail, every year I sing a verse of a carol which I have never heard or sung along to before! O Come O Come Emmanuel seems to be one of those carols which often fulfils that role, it has many verses, which sadly (but often necessarily) need to be trimmed from the performance for the sake of time!
Two verses which are fantastic theologically, but you may not have sung recently, are the focus of today’s blog, and I’ve posted them below.
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.
We are all seeking freedom and joy
In a 2017 post on Christianity Today, Ed Stetzer talks of how advent is a representation of our longing for freedom from our separation from God.
“In this time of waiting, patience is key. We wait, but do so with great expectation, trusting that God will fulfill all of his many promises to us. As believers, we never fear, we do not lose hope, nor do we give into discouragement, because we know how the story ends: Jesus—the long awaited Messiah—is on the move.”
The whole world longs for the same thing, we are all searching for freedom, joy, prosperity and unity. In the commercialisation of the Christmas season we see an example of how we can so easily seek this satisfaction in temporary things. As advent is a season of anticipation of the coming of Christ for Christians, so for others it is a season of anticipation of the coming of loads of new stuff! Stuff which it is hoped will bring healing, belonging, and value.
The one who brings true freedom and joy
In Isaiah 11:2-5 we read the verses which are the inspiration for part of today’s carol. It describes the Messiah, the one we now know to be called Jesus. He is one on whom the Spirit of the Lord rests, he is one who cares about justice for the poor and those in need, he is the defender of those who are the victims of oppression and wickedness.
This is the one everyone is waiting and searching for, the one who brings true freedom and joy. He fulfils all the longings and desires in us, desires that are too deep to be fulfilled by presents, traditions, or even friends and family members this Christmas.
A question to ask yourself today
Who do you know that needs to learn that Jesus can meet their needs this Christmas? I would encourage you to invite that person to our online carol service - 7:30pm on the Redeemer Church London Youtube Channel - where they will get a chance to meet the one who will fulfil their deepest needs this Christmas.
It may be that you are stirred by the words of Isaiah 11 today, to reach out to the most vulnerable in our society, those who Jesus himself would have sought out. We are running an initiative this year called Love Christmas, where we are aiming to bless others in our borough, and you can get involved by emailing us at hello@redeemerlondon.org
