“O COME”You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manessehstir up your mightand come to save us!(Psalm 80:1-2)
If you try to identify the theme that most often appears in the treasury of carols we sing each Christmas, you’d find there’s really not even a close second.
The one-word answer? Come.
The word echoes through so many of those familiar texts:
- "O come, O come, Emmanuel . . ."
- "O come, Thou long expected Jesus . . ."
- "Come to my heart, Lord Jesus . . ."
It makes sense—because "come" is the core meaning of the word advent. And because the Advent theme of "coming" reflects a centuries-long expressions of yearning.
"Please, Lord, please, come"—the plaintive cry echoes throughout the Hebrew scriptures.
Messiah had repeatedly been promised and prayed for. The rolling centuries had presented a roster of fringe candidates who trotted themselves out as seeming possibilities. But they all came and went. Through the centuries, that was the pattern. Come and go. Never come and stay. Never come and change things. Never come and save our lives from others have done to us . . . worse, from what we have done to ourselves.
And yet "when the fullness of time had" —had what?— when it "had come" (Gal. 4:4), God the Father sent Jesus. He came. And though the world was slow to pick up on His arrival, it soon became abundantly obvious, both to His friends and His enemies, that Someone new was among them. Someone unlike any other. That's the reason for the shouted hosannas of Jesus' triumphal entry. That's why the blood-heavy cross of Good Friday. That's why the beyond-belief joy and amazement of Easter morning.
In fact, if any other single word can compete for prominence in the carols, it is joy. But joy, when you drill down to its essence, is the result of His coming, is it not? The lyrics of those carols that most thrill us with joy are really just helping remind us of how and why He came—and calling us to come as well:
- "O come, all ye faithful . . ."
- "O come, let us adore Him . . ."
- "Come and worship, come and worship . . ."
So the gospel of Christ's incarnation is also the gospel of invitation. In view of His coming in fulfillment of His promise, we stand now in the borrowed light of His appearing, serving as shared communications of His gospel message. And thankfully, whenever we don't know exactly how to express what our salvation means, carolers from the past generations provide us help that never seems to grow old.
We can sing it.
Let us sing today of His coming.
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PRAYER
Lord, we praise You now for your appearing, for Your coming to us. Not only did You recognize our truly desperate condition, but You stepped out of the safety of heaven, directly into our danger. During this Advent season, as we worship You afresh, may the joy we receive become the joy we share, so that others, too may know of Your coming.
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KEEP READING
—Psalm 79:8-13"Let your compassion come speedily to meet us." (v. 8)
—Malachi 3:1-2
"Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts." (v. 1)
—2 Timothy 1:8-10
". . .through the appearing of our Savior Christ." (v.10)
How might you invite someone else to join you during this Advent season as you seek to receive all that the Lord has "come" to reveal of Himself to us?
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