Saturday, December 21

O Come, O Come Emmanuel [9th century Latin]


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

The Advent & Christmas cycle are often understood to be a movement from darkness to light.  These liturgical seasons span across the winter solstice.  The winter solstice is the day with the shortest period of daylight and longest night of the year.  In the Northern hemisphere that is December 21or 22.  So we begin Advent with the days growing continually shorter and as we approach Christmas the days begin to grow longer.  The term "day-spring" is an English translation for the Hebrew which means "sunrise."  The dayspring is the moment and point on the horizon where the sun shows itself again.

When you pray the Daily Offices (as I try to do), you encounter the places in scripture where this is a powerful metaphor with regularity.  The Benedictus (or song of Zechariah) is part of the main morning prayers - Lauds.  Zechariah is singing about the birth of John the baptist and sings:
"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
by the forgiveness of their sins.
By the tender mercy of our God,
the dawn from on high will break upon us,
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 1:78-79 NRSV)

The Third Canticle of Isaiah is also frequently used in the daily offices.  It comes from Isa. 60:1–3, 18-19.
"Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the LORD will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
 

Violence shall no more be heard in your land,
devastation or destruction within your borders;
you shall call your walls Salvation,
and your gates Praise.
The sun shall no longer be
your light by day,
nor for brightness shall the moon
give light to you by night;
but the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory."

We know from John's gospel that "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.   He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.   He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.   The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.   But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,  who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:6-13 NRSV).

Advent is a time for us to reflect on the possibility that the light of life is in our world and in our lives too and we, like those who cam before us, fail to take notice: "The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.  He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him."  So as we get ever closer to the longest night, let us be diligent in giving thanks for the daystar of our lives.

Daily Collect
Lord, you are the light and life of all peoples.  It is the brilliance of your love which illumines the world.  Let us be reminded with every sunrise the steadfast love and mercy of the Lord is never-failing, fresh as the morning and sure as the sunrise.  The Lord's unfailing love and mercy never cease.  Amen.