“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Father Gregory Boyle directs Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, arguably the world’s most successful ministry to the members of inner-city gangs. He is inundated by opportunities to speak around the country. It’s no surprise that he sometimes falls back on the same compelling stories. A few years ago he was speaking to a gathering of foster grandparents in southern California. He had spoken at the same event the previous summer, and many of the same attendees were in the audience. Afterwards, a grandmother approached him. Her eyes were filled with tears. She grabbed both of Boyle’s hands and said with great emotion, “I heard you last year. It never gets better!”
As we move into Advent in the Christian calendar what we know for sure is that Christmas never gets better. It’s time once again to join in the same songs, renew our favorite traditions, and plunge into those oh-so familiar biblical accounts of the birth of Jesus. We run the risk of course of repeating ourselves. But that’s OK. The spiritual songs that highlight this season we know as Christmas carols.
What exactly is a Christmas carol? The word carol appears to come from the Greek word CHOROS which means “dance.” We see that word in the word “choreography.” It might be simplest to say that Christmas carols prompt the dancing of human hearts.
If there’s such a thing as the first carol that ought to be sung every year as Christmas approaches, it’s “O Come , O Come Emmanuel”—first in terms of the story it tells (one day the messiah will come) and in terms of its antiquity.
More than a thousand years ago, monks did not commonly read music. They learned to sing “plainsongs”, simple melodies passed on from generation to generation. The carol’s melody, which is in a minor key is particularly haunting. The words were originally translated from twelfth century Latin verses. The original composers will probably never be known:
O Come, O Come Emmanuel,
And ransom, captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
(chorus) Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Who is this Emmanuel? According to Matthew 1:23, Jesus would bear that title. It means “God with us.” Every time we turn toward Jesus we discover in fresh and powerful ways that God is always alongside us. God is with you in that relationship with your neighbor here at Westminster Village, God is with you in chemotherapy. God is with you as we all deal with the aging process. God is with you in your loneliness. And sadness. And disillusionment. God is with you in your grief.
There is no event, no appointment, no circumstance in which Jesus will ever fail to live up to the name that he has been given for eternity. He is Emmanuel. Rejoice!
Faithfully,
Ron Naylor, Chaplain