Message in a Minute for December 22nd:
Today is the last Sunday of Advent. Our season of patient waiting is almost over. In just a few days, we will celebrate the birth of Christ our Savior. In these last few days, we hear the “O” antiphons at Mass. These antiphons are prayed during the Alleluia. These antiphons have been used since the 8th century. Each of the antiphons invites the Lord to come to us, but does so by using Old Testament imagery. These have been turned into the Advent hymn “O come, O come, Emmanuel.” So, as we come to the end of the Advent, “Emmanuel” becomes our focus.
I had the fortune of studying ancient Hebrew for one year. I certainly am not an expert at the language. But, it helped me to see how Hebrew constructs words. Very often, words will be joined together. For example, the word for God is “EL.” But, to say “my God” one simply says “ELI”. My and God are joined together into one word. The same thing is happening for “Emmanuel.” EM means “with”, MANU “us”, EL “God”. So, Emmanuel is three words all joined together: God With Us.
Emmanuel is a simple word, and yet the ramifications are tremendous. “God with us” is an amazing proclamation of faith. God is not far and distant; God is near and close. Though we cannot see God, we know that he is near. The child of Bethlehem proclaims this simply fact: Emmanuel.
Adam and Eve sinned and lost their friendship with God. We do the same when we commit our sins. Sin causes us to drift away from God. Yet, God overcomes the distance. God closes the gap that was caused by Original Sin. Jesus Christ truly is Emmanuel: God with us. This one-word changes everything.
Take a few moments this week before the craziness of Christmas goes into full effect. Pray the O Antiphon for Sunday and ask Jesus Christ, Emmanuel to come and be our savior: Antiphon for December 23: O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!
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