Since both the gospel of Matthew and Luke include stories of Jesus’ birth, we know that the early church recognized and celebrated Christ’s birth in some fashion. While many of the Christmas songs and traditions we have are relatively new, dating to the 1700 and 1800’s, there is evidence of Christmas celebrations going back another 1,000 years, and one of the songs we sing each year comes from this time period: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
The lyrics of this song come from the 8th or 9th century when monks would worship by reciting psalms and then chanting a refrain. The monks would often begin each psalm with “O” and over time these readings were called the “O antiphons”. The most famous one is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which tradition says would be sung leading up to the celebration of Christ’s birth.
Here is what I never knew about this song. The way the verses have been traditionally laid out, and the way they appear in our hymnal, verse 1 says O come, O come Emmanuel, and Matthew’s gospel tells us that the Messiah was to be called Emmanuel, which means God with us. Verses 2-7 also begins with the phrase O Come and is then followed by another name given to the Messiah. There is O Come Thou Wisdom, O Come Lord, O Come Root of Jesse, O Come Key of David, O Come Dayspring, and O Come King of the Gentiles. If you take the first letter from the Latin name in each verse and put them together you get SARCORE. If you turn this around you get Ero Cras - which means: I will be present tomorrow.
So in the first verse we sing O Come , O Come Emmanuel which means God is with us, and then in each verse after that we are reminded that God is not only with us today but will be present with us tomorrow. And that is the gift of Jesus: God present with us today and God present with us in all the days to come. The message of O Come O Come Emmanuel is this:
God Is With Us
God Was With Us
God Will Be With Us
God is with us. When the angel comes to Mary and tells her that she has been chosen by God to give birth to the Messiah, his first words are, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. The Lord is with Mary. Before Mary said, yes, before she knows God’s plan, God was with her. This may not seem like much to us because we often pray for God to be with us, but for Mary, and for the people of Israel, God being with them was astounding news and even a bit scary.
All through the Old Testament we hear that God is so powerful and holy that no one can look at His face and live. Moses experienced God in a burning bush, and then in a fire and cloud on the mountain, but never face to face. The prophet Elijah was only able to see God from behind, and when the priests went into the holy of holies once a year to offer a sacrifice on behalf of the people, they would tie a rope around one leg in case the priest died in God’s presence and had to be pulled out. Being in the presence of God was this powerful, and yet here is God saying to this young girl - I am with you - which is maybe why the angel then had to say, do not be afraid.
The news that God is with the world first brought fear, but in time it brought joy. After the shepherds found Jesus lying in a manger, after they had seen the Messiah, God in the form of a small vulnerable baby, it says that they returned to the fields glorifying and praising God. The joy they felt came from knowing that God was with them not to judge and destroy them, but to love and forgive them.
I watched a video of the Christmas story a few weeks ago and when the shepherds arrived one of them kept saying, we were told the Messiah came for people like me. He couldn’t believe it. All his life he had been told he was nobody, and he had problems that made him feel unworthy, but the news that God had come for him filled him with joy.
I’m not sure we feel that same joy when we hear the message of the angels, or when we hear this well-known verse, but honestly every time we do hear it or say it we should be overjoyed. God so loved the world that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16. God coming in the form of a child is a sign of God’s love for us. God did not come to judge us but to forgive us. John goes on and says, for God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. God is with us and instead of being afraid we can be at peace and even filled with joy.
God is with us. If we truly believe this, it changes everything. No matter what we are going through today, knowing that God is with us can give us the peace, the comfort, and the strength we need to keep going. Knowing God is with us wipes out our fear. Whether it is fear of the future, fear of an illness, fear of a relationship that is in trouble, or a job that is insecure. All fear is wiped away when God is with us. The Bible says God is love, and perfect love casts out fear, so God with us in love casts out all fear.
God with us also means that God is here to guide us when we are unsure, strengthen us when we are weak, heal us when we are sick, and forgive us in our sin. Whatever we need today, God is with us, and as we look ahead to a week that is not going to be what we expected it to be, or want it to be, we need to remember that Christmas is the gift of God with us and God is still with us.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel also reminds us that God was with us. Verses 2-7 all look back to the names the prophets gave the Messiah, which remind us that God has always been with His people. God never given up on them, and God has never given up on us. God has always been with us. Looking back on your life, can you see a time when God was with you? Maybe you didn’t know it at the time, or you questioned where God was, but looking back you can see that God was right there?
When I went to college, I prayed that God would be with me. I really didn’t know what that meant, I just knew that this was a big step for me and I needed some help. My first few weeks at school were not easy, there were times I felt alone, all alone, but when I look back now I can clearly see that God was with me. God was guiding me through that time with patience and love.
The summer I worked in Yellowstone I also prayed that God would be with me. Once again, my first few weeks were kind of crazy. I was not working in the location I had expected and things were very unsettled, but a month into the summer I could look back and see that God had put me right where he wanted me, and I wouldn’t have changed that for anything. Can you look back at a time in your own life, or an experience you have had, where God was clearly with you? Maybe you struggled to see it or feel then, but now it is clear to see.
I think Joseph was able to do this. When he first learned that Mary was going to have a child, and he was not the father, his world came crashing down. This was not what he had planned or prayed for. He was a good and righteous man who was having a hard time seeing that God was with him. Even when Mary told him that the child was from God, Joseph had a hard time seeing that God was with him. But then the baby is born and some shepherds arrive telling them that angels told them that this was the Messiah, and in that moment everything changed. Suddenly looking back, Joseph could see that God had been with him and Mary all along. Even when things looked their worst, God was there. When we can look back and see how God was with us during the difficult times, when we are at our worst, it reminds us that God is still with us today, and will be present with us in the future.
God is with us. God was with us, and God will be with us. I will be with you was also the message the angel gave to Mary. He not only told Mary that the Lord was with her in that moment but that the Lord would be with her in the future. The angel said, the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Mary, the Lord will be with you.
When things got difficult, I wonder if Mary returned to this promise. When she had to tell Joseph that she was pregnant by the power of God and knew that the conversation wouldn’t go well, did she tell herself, God will be with me. When she found out she had to take a long trip to Bethlehem in her ninth month of pregnancy, did she tell herself, God will be with me. When she started to give birth in a stable surrounded by animals, did she tell herself, God will be with me. When they had to flee to Egypt to save the life of her child, did she tell herself, God will be with me. 30 years later when she stood at the foot of the cross and watched her son die, did she tell herself, God will be with me.
As we face a week that will be different, and for many of us difficult, can we say, God will be with me. As we face a health situation that is scary, or a future that seems uncertain, or a life that seems to be running off the rails, can we tell ourselves confidently, God will be with me. This is the foundation of the Christmas story. God came to be Emmanuel, which means God with us today, but it also means He will be with us in all the days to come. In fact, we are told specifically in the Bible that there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. There is nothing in the future that can keep God from being with us. Paul says in Romans 8:35, 37-39:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing can keep God from being with us. Our faults and failures can’t keep God from us. Our despair and darkness can’t keep God from us. Our sin and shame can’t keep God from us. This Covid Christmas can’t God from us. Nothing can keep God from us because in Jesus, God came to be with us.
God has been with us in the past, God is with us today, and God will be with us in all the days to come. This is the good news that is for all people. This is the good news that can change everything if we will believe it. This is the gift that can change our lives if we will receive it. So Rejoice, Rejoice. For Emmanuel has come to thee O Israel. He has come for me. He has come for you.
Next Steps
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Read all the verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
● How does the song remind us that God
○ Has been with us in the past?
○ Is present with us today?
○ Will be with us in the future?
Read Luke 1:26-38, and Romans 8:35-39.
When have you experienced God being with you?
At the time, did you feel God’s presence or guiding hand? Why or why not?
What are some of the unique ways you personally feel God’s presence? Set aside time this week to seek God in these ways.
How do you need God’s presence to help you today? What current circumstances seem dark and overwhelming? Where do you need Jesus to be your light and hope?
What challenges will you face in the new year?
● How can remembering that God has been with you in the past give you comfort and courage as you face the future?
● Who can face this situation with you and remind you that God is with you to help you?
Read the full Christmas story from Matthew 1-2, & Luke 1-2. Give thanks that God has come in the person of Jesus to be with us now and always.
Join us online at 7:00 PM Christmas Eve for Faith Church’s
Candlelight Worship Service. Invite others to join you!
