An Advent Meditation 1

Recently on my Facebook Account, I've been posting comments about my favorite Advent hymn, O Come O Come Emmanuel. Since my musings are more expansive then their character allotment , I'm switching to the blog format. In modern times, the pieces has curiously become known as a Christmas carol. Yet this is not a song of celebration, but of intense and exquisite spiritual longing, coupled with a joy anticipated, but unfulfillable before Christ's birth.

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel.

The reference in the first verse written above to "captive Israel" hearkens back to the Babylonian captivity of Israel. The nation born away in chains and dispersed throughout Babylon, which then was subsequently overtaken by Persia, longed for her deliverer, for her Messiah to restore her to her former glory. In a foreshadowing of the redemption that God offers His chosen people, He has a daughter of Israel, Esther, made queen of Persia. When an evil government official, Haman, manipulates the king to arrange the extermination of the entire Jewish race within his kingdom, Mordecai, Esther's uncle and guardian prods her to act on her people's behalf.

Esther requests her uncle to call on their fellow Jews to fast and repent, and then, at peril of her own life, pleads for her people. The King's law is immutable, but a way of mercy is provided. The slaughter is averted. The true evil is purged. The Jews are delivered and later under Cyrus their exile is ended and they begin their return to Israel.

But Israel remained captive to its own sin. Time and again, she had fallen into apostasy and separation. A remnant of righteous believers, some of them spoken of in the Book of Hebrews, remained true, stirring up the faith, igniting the flame and fanning the hope in the promised by the Ancient of Days: O Come.. O Come Emmanuel.

Several years ago, I attended a church where an interpretative dance was performed to this hymn. The dancer began the number swathed in sheer black veils, hands in chains. The visual impact was stunning- Israel, captive without the freedom to move physically, or spiritually clothed in garments of mourning.

Sometime, as Christians, despite having received the Promise, we still fail to walk in own deliverance. Instead of embracing our freedom in Christ, we allow ourselves to be taken captive by sin. Though we have Emmanuel, God with us, and by the Holy Spirit, we have the power to do as Paul admonishes us in 2CO 10:5 and take even "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

Traditionally, Advent has always been a time for inward reflection. Once the province of the liturgical churches, the keeping of Advent is now found in a broad spectrum of Christian denominations, non-denominations, and fellowships. As we make preparations to celebrate Christmas, take time to consider the state of your walk. Are you captive to the world, or are you experiencing freedom in Christ?