"Oh, Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" & Advent worship

Central Family,

Yesterday we began the Advent season by singing “Oh, Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel.”  Advent is the season of the Church year that emphasizes the anticipation of the first coming of Christ to this earth. His coming as the Messiah was first prophesied in the sixth century B.C. when the Jews were captive in Babylon. For centuries the faithful Hebrews looked for their Messiah with great longing and expectation, echoing the prayer that He would “ransom captive Israel.”  As followers of Jesus we wait with the same expectancy, for the piercing of the clouds – His second Advent, when “every knee should bend, in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”

The five verses of this hymn greet Jesus Christ with one of the many titles given to him in the Scriptures; Emmanuel, Lord of Might, Rod of Jesse, Day-Spring, and Key of David. The haunting melody was originally a Chant or Plainsong, the earliest form of singing in the Church.  I invite you to join your fellow members of Central as we gather for our Advent Worship tomorrow and Wednesday.  We will gather in the sanctuary for ½ hour worship of quiet prayer, confession, reflection and a brief meditation on a different Advent hymn each week.  Tuesday worship is at 7:00PM and Wednesday worship is at 11:30AM.

This Advent I hope that you will take time to “LISTEN AND REMEMBER.”  Prayer isn’t only talking but it is also listening. At times our prayer needs to be, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” We wait. We ponder. We realize silence and stillness is a gift. And we keep waiting and listening. St. Francis prayed constantly in front of a wooden crucifix, framing his listening by looking into the loving face of Jesus. St. Benedict told friends to listen to God by reading a story about Jesus, and then pondering what God might be saying.

So if I read that Jesus was unimpressed by the high and mighty but loved those nobody else wanted, what is God saying to me? If I read that Jesus said not to lay up treasure on earth, what is God saying to me? If I read that Jesus is the bread of life or the living water, what is God saying to me?  Prayer is listening and remembering.

None of this is easy in our busy, frenetic, high-tech world. But we can learn to be still and know that GOD IS GOD! We do not need to let the world squeeze us into its mold.  If you are not able to be part of our Advent worship do make sure you take some time this week to be listen and remember!

Together we are on the Advent journey!

Paul