Songs of the Season: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

While technically we will be starting the season of Advent tomorrow, and aren’t really in the Christmas season yet,  I can’t help but cue my iPod to my Christmas playlist. Christmas songs tend to capture as a photograph my memories, feelings, and experiences. So each day this year, I will be reflecting on a song of the season.

Advent comes from the Latin word adventus which means “coming”. Beginning four Sundays before Christmas, Advent is a time to prepare as we wait for the coming of Christ which we celebrate on Christmas.  

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is perhaps the chart topper for the Advent hit list. This familiar song is several centuries old. The chorus (“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel”) is an antiphon from the 8^th century. The rest of the lyrics were written around the 12^th century. They were translated into English in the mid-19th century:

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.

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

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

The word Emmanuel means “God with us”. This hymn is rooted in biblical passages of anticipation of a Savior (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23).  Each verse reflects various names used to refer to the Savior. Throughout the song, there is reference to the weight of oppression and human misery and the anticipated arrival of a Savior, a God who is with us, providing hope and liberation.

When I sing this song during Advent, I, too, await with anticipation the birth of love and liberation in our world once again. I join my voice with those across time and space who have sung this song with the assurance that God loves us enough to become one of us. 

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel