Expecting: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

A few weeks ago I watched Call the Midwife's 2012 Christmas special.* Sister Evangelina and Nurse Lee assist an older woman, Mrs. Jenkins, living in dire poverty. She is alone, living in an abandoned building, and the filth is almost tangible through the screen. While Sister Evangelina burns the outer garments to curb infestation, Nurse Lee must use vaseline to remove Mrs. Jenkins' shoes because they are stuck to her skin. Once the shoes are off, we briefly see open sores, toenails so long they are curling, and infection that has caused the big toe to swell twice its size and change color. Wretchedness but a reality for many. The scene shifts to Nurse Lee and Sister Evangelina removing Mrs. Jenkins undergarments and bathing the layers of dirt away. There is no dialogue, but O Come, O Come, Emmanuel enters as the background music. The juxtaposition of music and motion was beautiful.

As tears slipped from my eyes, my heart joined with the music in crying out and longing for the Redeemer. "Come, Emmanuel! Come, save us from poverty of the body, poverty of society, and poverty of the soul! Come, cleanse away the dirt we have wallowed in for far too long! This is not how it was meant to be. Come, redeem us into Your beautiful bride! Come, set us free! How much longer must we wait? We are ready to rejoice!"

The season of Advent begins, and on this first Sunday of Advent we are Expecting. Expecting the second coming of our Lord, expecting our hope to become sight, expecting that the world will be once again as it should be. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel not only recognizes the heart's longing for the Savior, but also the realization of the promise that He will come again. It is my favorite song to begin the Advent season.

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 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 heavenly 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, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times dids't give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.


 *If you've never seen Call the Midwife, watch it. Excellent plot, time period piece, good characters, honestly addressing issues of the time. It's better than Downton Abbey but not as good as Sherlock. Nothing beats Sherlock, but that's a post of a different matter.

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