Oh Come

For several weeks we have been singing "Oh Come,  Oh Come, Emmanuel" while we light the candles on the Advent Wreath.  I have been appreciating the slight paradox of that phrase.  After all, we are asking "God with us" to "Come".  Marvellous!  In the moment of our bidding Emmanuel to come, the request has already been granted.

The impact of the invitation to "Come" lies in the way the repeated phrases enhance our understanding of the identity of the one we are beckoning.   This is the one who approaches us with eternal joy, mercy, and salvation.  This is the one who loves us in a way that establishes a relationship with God that can not and will not ever be broken.

Not only are we in relationship with God right now, but we are also connected to the stream of all of God's people throughout history.

I am sitting in my home with my candles lit. I am singing silently the invirtation. Oh, come, Oh, come.....
I will never understand how it happens, but I know that it does!  Let it be!