O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
BY STEVEN DILLA

Daily ReadingZechariah 12 (Listen – 2:42)John 15 (Listen – 3:45)

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).

— Matthew 1.22-23

“Caesar is Lord,” the people would shout as his ornate chariot traversed the streets of Rome. From viaducts to philosophy, architecture to economy, none surpassed Rome. Their elite culture was the hope of the world — and it spread like wildfire, consuming much of the known world. Because Rome’s cultural dominance gave it seemingly limitless potential, it was stunning when the empire began to decline.

In the end, Caesar proved not only unable to save his empire, but even himself. The fall of Rome was earth-shaking, plunging civilization into what historians have long-called, “The Dark Ages.” For hundreds of years battles raged endlessly, pestilence and plague spread freely, and chaos seemed to gain the upper hand all too regularly. The period isn’t significantly brighter in church history. Scripture was largely inaccessible, starving the Church of sound doctrine and increasing the growth of folk religion, superstition, and far worse. (The groundwork for the devastatingly fractured interpretations of Scripture that lead to the crusades was formed during this time.)

“O come, Thou Wisdom, from on high, and order all things far and nigh,” wrote an anonymous monk sometime before 800 C.E. The words to “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” cry out from the depths of the Dark Ages, longing for God’s presence, Emmanuel, to rescue humankind. In more ways than one, the unknown author behind this song is an outlier. The lyrics show intimate knowledge of Scripture in a time of illiteracy, and the author seems acutely aware of humanity’s limits. Even if there were a vision for restoration present, no one on earth would be sufficient enough to bring it to be. 

O come, Desire of the nations, bindin one the hearts of all mankind;bid every strife and quarrel ceaseand fill the world with heaven’s peace.

“Jesus is Lord,” is a revolutionary claim. It upends not only global empires, but whatever each of us would enthrone on our own heart to save us from the insufficiency of our world. Christmas day celebrates the coming of an all-sufficient King. He is both the wisdom we long for and the power we need. He is God, and we long for his presence to heal our world and restore our hearts. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Listen: Francesca Battistelli – 4:20)

Verses in italics are less commonly sung.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuelshall come to thee, O Israel!

O come, Thou Wisdom, from on high,and order all things far and nigh;
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s heightin ancient times did give the lawin cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse’s stem,from ev’ry foe deliver themthat trust Thy mighty power to save,and give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, comeand open wide our heav’nly home;make safe the way that leads on highthat we no more have cause to sigh.

Refrain

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high,and cheer us by thy drawing nigh;
disperse the gloomy clouds of night
and death’s dark shadow put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Desire of the nations, bindin one the hearts of all mankind;
bid every strife and quarrel cease
and fill the world with heaven’s peace.