12.12.09

Christmas liturgies.. Kingdom longing..

Posted in audio, church calendar, gospel, pilgrimage, poetry/prose, transition at 5:00 am by len

Scot McKnight noted that one of his favorite Christmas hymns is, “O Come, O Come Immanuel,” a 12th Century hymn originally penned in Latin. It wasn’t until last year that I heard the Latin version (Igneous Quill linked two from YouTube) and since then have heard two more renditions in Latin – the most recent being a version sung by Enya (And Winter Came) .. an album that is rapidly becoming an Advent season favorite for us).

It’s not just that the poetry or the raw beauty of “Veni, Veni Emmanuel,” but the way it evokes both the joy of Jesus coming, and the longing for the arrival of the new world. We live in between the times. Some days we feel the presence of the kingdom in our friendships, at a table with family, or sitting in front of a warm fire while the snow is falling. At other times, we long for the arrival of the new world.. aware of our own failures, the darkness in the world, the hunger and loneliness and pain.

And while many of are rejoicing in Jesus arrival at this time of year, many are much more aware of the absence of the future kingdom. While we are all away from home in some sense, all living in exile, at METRO, a street based community, we know the longing for God’s just reign. There are many who have not seen their families in years.  Many live with regret more than joy, or wonder if they will ever find a way to leave the street life behind. On the good days they know they are loved by God; on the bad days they can’t muster that much faith.

So, with our brothers and sisters who are so aware of this world between joy and sorrow, we sing..

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 thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Scot McKnight writes,

“Christmas is the End to Exile. Tom Wright made a big deal of the theme “exile” as dominating the Jewish world and that Jesus and Paul both set their theology into such a context by proclaiming that the exile was now ended. Tom has probably over done this theme at times, but it is a theme that he captured for us and brought back to our understanding of the historical context of Jesus. And Matthew evidently thought along similar lines.
The implications are clear:

1. Jesus is the Victor, the one who enters into enemy territory and releases us from captivity. This is the point of Mark 10:45.
2. Humans are in captivity, and this has traditionally been seen with words that begin with “s”: to sin, to self, to Satan, and to systemic evil.
3. Jesus releases us, not simply through the cross, but at Christmas in the Incarnation, in his Life as the obedient life of the Second Israel and Second Adam, through his death by taking on our captivity, and through the Resurrection by breaking the powers of sin, self, Satan, and systemic violence. He now gives us the Spirit to be empowered to live that life.

4. Christmas is about bringing the end-to-exile theme to others.

Veni, Veni Emmanuel 

Related: Labor of Love

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