Today’s carol, O Come O Come Emmanuel (or Immanuel), is more of an Advent hymn than a Christmas piece. My hymnbook notes that it’s a 19th century translation of an 18th Century Latin text that itself was based on ‘ancient Advent Antiphons’ (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O_Antiphons if you’re interested) while the music appears to date from the 15th Century and may well not have been used with the words until the 19th century. Different arrangements and hymnbooks have the verses in different orders (or maybe it’s just the Methodists that are weird).
The first verse is often sung solo, before groups and/ or the full choir join in with later verses and the repeated chorus. To me the first verse expresses what the song is about, and why it feels particularly relevant this year. We may not have used the same language, but which of us hasn’t felt like crying out for an end to our captivity and exile from those we love at some point in the last few months? The sense of longing is palpable in words and music- repeating ‘O come, o come,’ emphasises the deep desire, the need of the writer for reassurance that better times are coming, an end to mourning and exile. That reassurance comes in the repeated refrain:
“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Israel- this gives us a clue to remember that the metaphors and imagery in this carol are drawn from Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah (mostly from Isaiah). The reference to the giving of the law at Sinai makes that clear. Israel was supposed to be the nation that would obey God’s law, but they couldn’t. Their repeated failures to live up to God’s way of life led them to be exiled from their homeland, to mourn ‘How can we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?’ Many churches this year have found the idea of exile helpful as they mourn being ‘exiled’ from their normal pattern of worship and church life. Exile taught Israel that God could be found everywhere- even in exile. Maybe this year has reminded us of that, as we wait for an end to our current difficulties.
The other verses draw on further imagery from the Old Testament. The rod of Jesse (rod may refer to strength and ruler-ship, especially as Jesse was the father of King David, the most celebrated king of Israel), possibly signifying a longing for good leadership and protection, freedom from fear and death. The Key of David, maybe signifying the longing for freedom- both earthly justice and perhaps from death. Again, in a year full of fear I think this resonates more than usual.
The dayspring (the dawn, or sometimes the morning star)- light and the coming of day. My imagination conjures up medieval monks in a dark, cold church in the depths of winter, singing about the coming of light in the darkest time of the year, perhaps as a candlelit procession processes down the nave towards the altar. Somewhere like Fountains Abbey deep in the countryside perhaps, although from personal experience York Minster gets pretty nippy in December too, and surprisingly dark for a building at the heart of a city. In the days before electricity it makes sense that the return of daylight light was used as a metaphor for hope, for better times to come. And what are they hoping, waiting, longing for?
“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Emmanuel (or Immanuel) meaning ‘God with us’ is a major Christmas theme that we’ll come back to, but as this piece is already twice as long as planned I won’t go into detail here! But for me the idea that God is with his people- not just as a baby in a manger 2000 years ago, but here and now by his Spirit, is one of the most exciting and reassuring things about Christianity.
Unlike most of the songs in hymn books and carol sheets, this one seems to end before the resolution, before the prayers of the faithful are answered. The last line is still that “Emmanuel shall come.” The wait, the longing, goes on. I guess we know that feeling.
It may feel at times that there’s not a lot to rejoice at this year, or even that rejoicing is inappropriate when so many are suffering and struggling. Christianity (done right) doesn’t ignore the suffering of the world. But it does call Christians to believe that despite everything, there is still hope. That eventually there will be justice and peace and freedom from fear. It calls us to look for the light of dawn- the dayspring- and to wait, in hope and expectation.
“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.”
