A drive of an hour and a half can mean a significant change of altitude around here, and so a significant change of climate. It seems funny to see everyone bundled up, ready to leave Ixtapaluca (I could see my breath), only to end up swimming at a waterpark…
(click image for larger version)
So we drove to the state of Morelos, and gradually started to thaw out. We met together in an amphitheatre in the forest and sang some Christmas carols…
David led the service, and Rod shared some biblical truths about baptism…
And then the three baptismal candidates gave their testimonies.
What an encouragement to hear how God has been working in their lives!
Finally, we went down to the river. Here’s a video of the baptisms – for reasons which will be clear, it’s hard to hear what’s being said. But you’ll get the idea!
After that, we enjoyed some delicious food and some wonderful fellowship and some walking and swimming (and sleeping!) as people desired, before heading back as night began to fall.
Thanks to everyone who was praying! Your prayers are not taken for granted. There were some challenging issues in the congregations – such as a fall, sickness, an accident – which could have caused problems. But God was good. Please continue to pray for those three teens who were baptized, and their families.
For more detailed information, with more videos and photos, check out Rod’s blog Mexico Matters!
As I explained last time, O Come O Come Emmanuelbegan as a single word. But as time went on, the cry of longing became a prayer to the Messiah – an acknowledgment of just who it is that we wait for.
To the “O” was added names or titles of the Messiah in Latin. In their final form (as still used today), we have:
O Sapienta (Wisdom)
O Adonai (Lord)
O Radix Jesse (Stem of Jesse)
O Clavis David (Key of David)
O Oriens (Dayspring)
O Rex Gentium (King of the world)
O Emmanuel (God with Us)
The series originated possibly over 1500 years ago.
As we’ll see, these themes eventually developed into the song we know today. We’ve already talked about the last one – Emmanuel, and the first, Wisdom. Let’s take a look at the next two verses, one at a time:
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. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
“Rod” is from the Authorized Version (KJV) translation of Isaiah 11:1 – here in the ESV translated as “shoot”.
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:1
Jesse was, of course, the father of King David. Long after David’s death, Isaiah prophesied that a “shoot” would grow out of the “stump” of Jesse – that is, a descendant of Jesse’s – a “Son of David”. In Isaiah 11:1-10, the “shoot” is depicted as someone on whom God’s Spirit rests, a righteous ruler that would destroy the wicked, and care for the poor and meek. This great Ruler would bring peace to the earth.
There are actually various enemies in this verse that the Rod must destroy. Satan, of course, the false and tyrannical ruler. Hell, the righteous judgement of God on sinners – in other words, the enemy of sin itself. And death – another judgement from God on sin.
Perhaps Paul was thinking of Isaiah 11 when he wrote these words:
Then comes the end, when [Christ] delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
1 Corinthians 15:24-26
The author of Hebrews also takes up this theme, including the tyranny of the devil in his explanation of Christ’s victory:
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, [Jesus] himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
Hebrews 2:14-15
From exile, tyranny and death to faithfulness and peace – that is the result of the rule of the Rod of Jesse.
Verse four…
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. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
What in the world is a “Day-spring”? Once again it comes from the Authorized Version, this time in Luke 1:78 – “the dayspring from on high hath visited us”. It’s actually a beautiful word, translated into modern English in the ESV. Here’s the text, speaking to baby John the Baptist:
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:76-79
Translated here as “sunrise”, dayspring is the first light of the new day – referring to the sun, or the morning star. The same theme is picked up in the hymn “The Sands of Time Are Sinking”:
The sands of time are sinking, the dawn of heaven breaks; The summer morn I’ve sighed for—the fair, sweet morn awakes: Dark, dark hath been the midnight, but dayspring is at hand, And glory, glory dwelleth in Immanuel’s land.
Anne R. Cousin
But there’s a curious detail here in Luke. The word is translated “sunrise” or “dawn” or “dayspring” because of the context, which, of course, speaks of light. But it could also be translated “sprout” or “shoot”. That’s right – it could also refer back, again, to the Shoot of Jesse.
Either way, once again we have the image of light coming to those who are in the darkness – the darkness of the fear of death. The Dayspring delivers us from the fear of death. At long last, the first light shoots over the horizon – the long night is over.
Interestingly enough, at the very end of Revelation, these themes are connected together – using the “morning star”:
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.
Revelation 22:16
And so we wait for Jesus, our Deliverer from death and the devil. At the moment, we see the first streaks of dawn in the sky as we remember the first coming of Christ – as we read the wonderful story in His Word. And we wait for the light of His coming again…
…we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts…
Ten years ago today (2012) we were having a closing program for the community centre. Part of the program was to give out some wheelchairs to people who had been identified as having a special need.
These are the “old style” wheelchairs provided by another mission. The new ones are a lot better and more sophisticated. But for someone who had no access to any chair, these were a good start!
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Many of you are probably feeling like you’re well into the Christmas season as well.
Our December began – well, with a heartbreaking loss by Canada at the World Cup… just after Mexico was eliminated. *sigh*
But on the bright side, it also began with a visit from our friends Greg and Shelli! A rare pleasure indeed. 🙂
We also started listening to some devotions for Advent as a family – it’s not too late to start, if you’d like to join us! The book is called The Dawn of Redeeming Grace: Daily Devotions for Advent, and we’re listening to the audiobook version. We’ve already had some great times to learn about and meditate on the coming of our Saviour this year.
If you’re praying for the ministry here, there are some neat things coming up!
This coming Sunday driving about an hour or so out of town to a water park, where we’ll be having a baptism service. One or two people will be baptized, as far as I know. Please pray for them, their families, and for the church, during this special time together.
The following Sunday I’ll be preaching a Christmas sermon, from a fascinating section of Jesus’ family tree. So I would appreciate prayer as I prepare for that. And after that we have more special services in December, fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters.
As we enter into the holiday season, it’s a wonderful time for believers here. But it’s also a challenge, as so many spend time with unbelieving family and friends. Please pray for our witness during these days.
Nathanael has a lot of heavy schoolwork right now, so you can pray for him as well, as he tries to get done in order to have some time off.
And, as many of you know, we’re looking forward to having Hannah here for a few days over the holidays! So a very special Christmas indeed. They’re all special, of course. 🙂
There are about a million other things going on, but I’ll leave it at that for now! Thanks for your prayers.
May Christ be glorified this month, and into 2023!
War, disease, poverty, hatred, tyranny. With just a quick look at the world today, we see that we live in a desperate and decaying era. Oh, that it would come to an end.
Over 2000 years ago, the power of sin was broken, in time, when the Messiah finally came to earth. God the Son took on human flesh, suffered, and died, bringing us forgiveness and redemption.
And someday, Satan’s borrowed tyrannical rule will end. And finally, even the presence of sin in this world will be a thing of the past. Because the Messiah is coming back.
As Christians, we long for that day, as believers in Old Testament times longed for His first coming. And you may notice that I naturally began expressing that longing with a single word – you might say a single sound – Oh!
I borrowed the title of this post from my Dad, who would describe this carol as the song which began as a single word – and that word was “O”. The tradition began – well, we’re not sure when, but it was in place by the 8th century. The tradition was to express the longing for the coming of Christ by singing a drawn-out “O”. Today, that practice has continued in some liturgical traditions, as “the Great O of Advent”, or the O Antiphons ( a song or chant sung in a liturgy) of Advent. A long “O” was sung before and after the reading of Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55).
Over time, words were added – we’ll talk more about that another week. But finally, a whole song evolved. Originally appearing in English as “Draw Nigh, Draw Nigh, Emmanuel”, it is now better known as O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who orderest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
You can see immediately that the song is talking about Jesus’ first coming, and yet it has for us a double meaning as we await His return.
“Emmanuel” (or Immanuel) means “God with us”. (Or, more literally, “With us God” – you might recognize the Hebrew word for God at the end – “El”.) The most familiar verse, quoted in Matthew 1:23, is in Isaiah:
Therefore the LORD himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Matthew places this prophecy at the beginning of his book, ending with confirmation of its fulfillment:
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (emphasis mine)
Jesus was quite literally God with us – God among humankind. And He remains with His people.
But after the prophecy itself in Isaiah, things progressed to judgement. The exile of Israel from the land. And a return that, although wonderful, left many longing for the glory days of the past (Ezra 3:12). Oh for the time when God Himself would appear in His temple, and lead His people (Exodus 40:34-38; 2 Chronicles 7:1-3)! Emmanuel!
(Incidentally, the different spellings are the same word – one comes from the Hebrew (Immanuel), the other from the Greek. Which is, itself, a translation of the Hebrew!)
God’s presence, God’s guidance. It is the answer to Moses’ prayers in Exodus 33 – “Show me your glory” and “Show me your ways”. Powerful prayers.
The second verse develops the idea of guidance, calling Jesus the Wisdom from on high. We long for wisdom – a term that includes intelligence and ability to act. Wisdom is an attribute of God, shown to us in His amazing creative work:
The LORD possessed me [Wisdom] at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. … when he marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always…
From Proverbs 8:22-31
Jesus Himself is called Wisdom in the New Testament:
And because of [God] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:30-31
This idea is repeated again in Colossians, after Paul says that all things were created by means of God’s beloved Son:
…in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Colossians 2:3
All three of these passages speak of the pursuit of wisdom by human beings. A pursuit of that wisdom that created the world itself. Proverbs 8 exclaims, “whoever finds me finds life and obtains favour from the LORD!” (Proverbs 8:35). 1 Corinthians encourages us to boast in what we have received in Christ – wisdom, among other things. And Colossians echoes Proverbs by praying:
… that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him…
Colossians 1:9-10
Wisdom in Christ, like Christ Himself, is something that we have – and yet something that we pursue, long for, and wait for.
Although Jesus fulfills His promise to be with us always, through His Spirit, we long for His physical presence on earth, visible to all. For “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:7).
So in this song, we will spend the next four weeks giving thanks for the riches of the Messiah, but also longing for the complete fulfillment of our salvation. Glory, Guidance, and Wisdom – O, how we long for Him!
For four years now, this being the 5th, I have done a deep dive into a Christmas carol, over a series of posts. And I’m here to keep up the tradition one more time!
The first two were candidates for the greatest Christmas song of all time:
It all began with my disgust at hearing lists of “the greatest” Christmas songs that ignored the great songs based on the birth of the Christ Himself.
Tomorrow we’ll get into another carol – a familiar one, and another one of my favourites. But with origins that are very unusual. It started as a single word – progressed into a hidden code – well, we’ll talk about that when the time comes.
