O Emmanuel, God With Us, Come! Christmas Eve
This week we are adoring Jesus by praying the prophetic names of the O Antiphons.
O EMMANUEL (GOD IS WITH US )
Pray: O Emmanuel, king and lawgiver, desire of the nations, Savior of all people: Come and set us free, Lord our God.
Look: Holy Family, Father John Battista Giuliani - Source
Listen: Advent Song, The Porter’s Gate [feat. Jonathan Ogden] - Spotify | YouTube | Lyrics & Score
Read: Isaiah 7:14; Luke 1:31-33; Isaiah 43:1-2,8-9a,10-13; 1 Timothy 3:16
A Reading from Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Imman’u-el.
A Reading from Luke 1:31-33
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom, there will be no end.
A Reading from Isaiah 43:1-2,8-9a,10-13
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you...
Bring forth the people who are blind, yet have eyes, who are deaf, yet have ears! Let all the nations gather together, and let the peoples assemble... “You are my witnesses,” says the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the Lord, and besides me, there is no savior. I declared and saved and proclaimed when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” says the Lord. “I am God, and also henceforth I am He; there is none who can deliver from my hand; I work and who can hinder it?”
A Reading from 1 Timothy 3:16
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of our religion: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
Read Malcolm Guite's sonnet and then sing all seven verses of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel as today's prayer.
O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.
Sing :
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
And order all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
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 o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
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.
Do: Make space for rest today. Set your timer for 25 minutes and recline. If you have napping children at home, take a nap with them. This will go against every instinct when you probably have things left to do before Christmas. Try it anyway.
Curl up with a blanket and a pillow and close your eyes. As your mind fights you with distractions, breath in the word "Emmanuel", hold your breath gently for a count of four, and then breathe out "God with us".
You might also enjoy: Listen to the live radio broadcast of King’s College Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols at 10 EST / 9 CST this morning.
For millions listening on radio and online around the world, A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, live from the candlelit Chapel of King's College, Cambridge, marks the beginning of Christmas. It is based on nine Bible readings that tell the story of the loving purposes of God. They are interspersed with carols old and new, sung by the world-famous chapel choir who also lead the congregation in traditional Christmas hymns.
If you are listening to A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols you may also wish to follow along with the Order of Service. The booklet will be available at the radio link sometime in December.
