Isaiah 7:14
It’s all been a bit doom and gloom recently, hasn’t it?
You don’t need me to list the ways in which life has seemed a little more challenging recently; it’s inescapable! You only have to switch on the news to see stories of depression, poverty, war…the list goes on and on! At times it almost feels like the news outlets thrive on pointing out the dark clouds that surround us and refuse to see the shards of light that intersperse this broken world.
And yet, we do live amongst the brokenness.
Our carol for this week shows that we are not alone when we feel hopeless.
‘O come, O come, Immanuel’ has been sung by Christians since the 13th century. Originally written in Latin, it was discovered by John Mason Neale in the 19th century and translated into the carol we sing today. It speaks of a time when the people of Israel had lost their way. They had repeatedly turned from God and found themselves in exile under Babylonian rule. They called out for the promised Immanuel.
O come, O come, Immanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Despite the darkness that surrounded them, the people of Israel had hope. It was a hope that prophets such as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Isaiah had spoken of.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:14
As Christians today, we are blessed to live in a time where the hope and promise of Jesus is fulfilled. The season of Advent reminds us that God fulfilled the promise to his people, and the birth of a precious baby boy gives us all much to rejoice about.
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:
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Immanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Unlike the Israelites, we do not need to ask God to send the promised Messiah; he is already here.
Throughout Advent, we can bring our cares and concerns to God, just like the people of Israel did, and invite Immanuel (God with us) to infuse each situation with his hope. So whenever you see evidence of the ‘gloomy clouds of night’ in this world, take a moment to stop and pray.
Take a moment to ask Immanuel, the promised gift from God, to disperse the darkness.
And then
rejoice
because Immanuel has come to each one of us.
Kay Moorby
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