Christmas of 2009 I was sitting in a student led worship service called Refuge (shoutout to OBU). I was a sophomore in college. Little did I know the Lord was about to change the way I viewed Christmas. We began to sing the often too familiar Christmas Carol, O Come O Come Emmanuel. It was as if for the first time in my life the words actually made sense to me.
O come, o come Emmanuel
To free your captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
We were captive, we were lost, we were without any hope at all. The people of God had sat in silence for 400 years. They were mourning, they were waiting, they were watching for a savior to rescue them from this exile they were in. Until the Son of God appeared, although it was not the way they had expected. Does God ever really show up the way we think he should? It is always so much better than we could ever imagine. So God chooses to break the 400 years of silence, to bring about the King of kings, in the cry of a child.
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
That baby would be the one who would save His own, not only from the armies surrounding them, but from the tyranny of Satan himself. That baby would be the one to save his people from the depths of hell and, not only that, but give us victory over the grave. The separation we have experienced all throughout humanity would finally end. The separation would finally be over. We would be able to have access to God through the perfect birth, life, death, and resurrection of this baby born on this day.
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
That by the advent of this baby, our spirits would be lifted and we would experience the Lord like never before. The gloomy clouds over our lives and our sin would be no more. The shadows of death would be put to flight. No more would we fear the grave. We would experience life in Christ like never before in history. Finally the waiting was over, wanting a Rescuer was settled, and years and years of prayers were answered in the cry of a Child. A Child who would one day go to the cross. A Child who would take on the sins of the world. A Child who would die for you and me. Christmas is about God leaving heaven to meet us in our darkest hour, and saying he would not leave us in that state we were in. Christmas is about Him drawing close to us, to experience things like we do, so he would be able to identify with us. Christmas is about that veil in the temple being torn in two, because Jesus would go before us to give us access to the Holy of Holies like humanity had never experienced. This is Christmas. This should move us. This should change us. This should make us anticipate the second coming of Jesus with the same sense of urgency that the people so long ago did. Rejoice! Because He is Here! God is with us, he is for us, and his plan, this plan is good.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
May this song become real to you in a whole new way this Christmas season. May it change you and remind you of all Christ has done in your life. May the baby born in the manger ignite in you a passion for Christmas like never before. I pray Christmas means more this year.
