O COME, O COME EMMANUEL…
How old were you when you learned what the word EMMANUEL actually meant???
“Emmanuel” is not Jesus’ last name (as one church school youngster suggested) and honestly, is not a name at all — but three words rolled into one faith concept:
GOD - WITH - US
Way beyond just a “concept” — those words are the whole basis of what we believe — about God, about Jesus — about the way we live out our beliefs...
Jesus was God’s gift to us of God’s Self in human form…. When we sing “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL” we not only express our anticipation of celebrating Jesus’s birth — but we are inviting God INTO ourselves — to be WITH us and abiding IN us… to internalize and experience the gift of God’s Self in all our moments and our days… to be living expressions of “God-with-us” in our own selves…
The early Christian Celts were able to see the presence of the Divine in all things — in each tiny aspect of Creation! They sought to have an encounter with God as they experienced every moment of the day — and they intentionally employed practices of prayer and meditation to do just that. They also had a wonderful tradition of cultivating “soul friends” who took caring responsibility for assisting in the development of —and the sustained journey of — a spiritual life well-lived…
They LIVED OUT the idea of EMMANUEL — God with us — as they went about their lives. And despite the daily challenges they faced — simply to survive — they did it with reverent JOY!
Last Sunday, the choir sang a joy-fully spirited version of O COME O COME EMMANUEL (click here for the musical link). Not only at Christmastime , but on every day of every year, each one of US is invited to allow Jesus be born anew within our hearts… In the pageant of life, we are ALL innkeepers…
As you listen to this anthem, ponder in your heart the question:
Will I find room for him?