A reflection on coming into a relationship with Jesus in the Christmas season, at the dawn of a new year.
David Wilcock’s famous arrangement of the beloved Christmas hymn, “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”
Every year I look forward to preparing “O Come All Ye Faithful” for our Christmas Masses. The first line draws everyone in for the liturgy where we celebrate the joy of Christ’s birth: “O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!” To prepare our hearts for this Christmas joy, we have 4 weeks of Advent, a season of preparation and longing for our Savior, much like the Israelites of old. All throughout the season of Advent, we implore God to come as we sing many beloved hymns:
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- O Come, Divine Messiah
- Savior Of the Nations Come
- Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus
- The King Shall Come When Morning Dawns
Our Advent hearts seek the Lord who is to come—him whose name is “Emmanuel” (“God with us”). We recognize our need for a Savior, how each of us personally needs Jesus Christ. Saint Augustine says “our hearts are restless Lord, until they rest in thee.” That union with Jesus is our ultimate desire. As we prepare for his coming, our hymnody and prayers cry out from the depths of our being: ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ And what do we do on Christmas morning? We sing, “O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant…” He is here! With his coming, the invitation to ‘come’ is turned around to all of us, to all of creation, to give homage to the King. Throughout Advent we beg our Lord to come, and now when he arrives; we come to him. We are drawn to our Savior in worship, at Holy Mass.
"Throughout Advent we beg our Lord to come, and now when he arrives; we come to him."
How much time do we spend asking him to come into our lives? “Jesus, help me with this test.” “Jesus, help me find this thing.” Jesus, help me deal with this difficult situation.” I think we all make some type of personal invocation like this on a regular, perhaps even daily-basis. As much as we invoke him to come to us, we can also go to him! In some ways, it is not hard to do, because “at every time and in every place, God draws close to man.” (CCC 1) So of course, we come to him in whatever it is we are doing throughout the day, that’s easy enough. We also come to him by receiving the Eucharist at Mass. We can come to confession to ask forgiveness for our sins. Maybe we can come to him in the quiet peace of adoration. There are all kinds of ways to approach Jesus, we just need to come do it!
Here’s the best part: As much as we invoke God to come into our lives, he calls us even more! “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Jesus is always inviting us to come to him! He wants to give us his peace, he wants to see us face-to-face and dwell in our hearts. This is why he humbles himself and comes down to us on earth at Christmas. With such a loving God and Father who sends us his only Son, how can we do anything but come and adore him?
So, Merry Christmas everyone, and a very happy new year as well! This time of year, many people focus on new year’s resolutions and take inventory of the past year in a variety of ways. As you reflect, ask yourself how did you come to the Lord this year? Jesus Christ comes to us at Christmas with great love and joy. I hope and pray that you are filled with the love of God, now and always. It is in this spirit that we who cried, “Come, Lord Jesus,” now sing: “O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord!”
