Christmas post #1 - Emmanuel

So it occurs to me in this particular time of the year, that faith seems to burn a bit brighter, and people run about with ideas of what Christmas is all about. Now we've all seen bits and pieces of those 'street interviews' run by people like atheist activist Bill Maher, comedian Jay Leno, and others including former 'Man Show' hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Corolla. In these interviews they ask 'common sense' things to people, and usually those people respond with the most idiotic answers, apparently proving their various points, that on the whole? People are dumb. Meanwhile those of us watching securely and warmly at home marvel at the stupidity of our fellow Homo Sapiens and wonder just where they dredged these morons up. So I sat down one day, not too long ago, and wondered. Have people really forgotten the memory tricks we've taught them? The little reminders that wing their way over the airwaves? Those wonderful little encyclopedias, full of knowledge both of Christian tradition and Christmas knowledge? Oh yes, in case you've not quite figured it out, I am referring to Christmas songs. But do they really teach us all that much? They teach us a lot, just as much as teaching a child to sing the Alphabet song to learn their letters, Christmas songs can teach us everything there is to know about Christmas as well as a hefty dose of some of the core Christian doctrines. I'm not talking about the more modern songs like 'The Christmas Shoes', or even 'The Christmas Song'. I'm talking about 'O Holy Night', 'Stille Nacht' (Silent Night), 'O Come All Ye Faithful', and others, the ones that people know of, but perhaps aren't politically correct. After all, it's been decided by the Supreme Court that having Santa Claus (Originally a Catholic Saint) depicted in the commercial center of a mall doesn't constitute a breach of the 'establishment clause' contained in our First Amendment, but having a manger scene does since it references a specific religion's ideals and beliefs.

So I have decided to revisit some of those Christmas Standards, some that most artists love to put on their albums, including people like Nat King Cole, Natalie Cole, Kenny Rogers, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, and many others. Since I'm the one writing this blog? I'll start off with one of my favorites: "Veni, Veni Emmanuel", known in English as "O Come, O Come Emmanuel".

First? A bit of history. The song comes from the ancient Christian tradition of the O Antiphons, songs sung on the countdown to Christmas in the past. The last Roman scholar who spoke Greek in the Western World, Boethius, referenced these, including the last one O Come Emmanuel, as early as the 5th Century A.D., meaning that they had to be around at least a bit longer than that. The original song lyrics as we know them in the Latin today, were written as a Gregorian Chant (Yeah, the ones those monks do, speaking in Latin as they sing in a very narrow tonal range while singing A Capella). History is unclear on just when the words were written, but it was sometime around the 9th Century. By the 15th century, the words were put to music that was used as a processional for nuns. The original text was all in Latin, and only translated to English in the 19th century. Why so late? Because educations before the 20th century usually required courses in Latin and/or Greek. It's only been a recent phenomenon to replace those languages with requirements in Spanish, French, or other languages. In this blog I'll examine the words, first in Latin, then translated, and then, where appropriate, extract (or attempt to) the underlying Christian doctrine being communicated.

Veni, Veni Emmanuel;
Captivum solve Israel,
Qui Gemit in exilio,
Privatus Dei filio.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel;
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.

Explanation:

O Come, O Come Emmanuel refers to the coming of God in human form, Jesus Christ.
Referenced in Isaiah Chapter 7: Verse 14 "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Immanuel, in Hebrew, means 'God With Us', which is certainly what Jesus was, God walking and talking and living among us.

And ransom captive Israel/That mourns in lonely exile here/Until the Son of God appear.
Israel, both under the socio-political domination of pagan Rome, as well as the spiritual domination of being cut off from God by the original sin of Adam, needed to be ransomed or saved. Roman law and custom, forced on the Hebrews, gave many of them problems. One problem for example, came from coinage that was stamped with the Emperor's profile. By Jewish law, observant Hebrew worshippers were forbidden to use such money, which is why there were money changers at the temple. The Temple was considered so holy that Roman money, which bore a 'graven image' (that of the profile of Caesar), was not allowed to enter it. The money changers stood outside on the steps and would change the Roman money for acceptable coinage to give to the temple. Jesus came to Earth as the Son of God in order to heal the gap that existed between humanity and God, ransoming us from perdition by offering us the salvation and grace of God.

Veni, Veni O Oriens;
Solare nos adveniens,
Noctis depelle nebulas,
Dirasque noctis tenebras.

O Come, Thou Day-star, come and cheer;
Our spirits by Thine advent here,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

O Come Thou Day-star, come and cheer/Our spirits by Thine advent here.
The Day-star of course, is Jesus Christ. 'Cheer our spirits by Thine advent here' is referring to the souls of humanity rejoicing that God will come to humankind and give us cause for celebration by living among us.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night/And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Referring to the darkness surrounding humanity without the Light of God, Jesus Christ, that upon His arrival, the clouds of night which brought such sadness are cast away. The latter line 'And death's dark shadows put to flight' refers to the offering of Eternal life that faith in Jesus Christ offers to Christians. The faith and love of God offers new life to all people.

Veni, Clavis Davidica!
Regna reclude caelica;
Fac iter tutum superum,
Et claude vias inferum.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads to Thee,
And close the path to misery.

O come, Thou Key of David, come/And open wide our heavenly home.
This refers to the biblical link between David, inheritor of the covenant of Abraham, and Jesus Christ. Matthew Chapter 1:Verses 1-16 trace the lineage. Verse 17 sums it all up. The Gospel of Matthew shows Jesus as the fulfillment of prophecy and the law. The ultimate way to fulfill the law and the covenant of Abraham with God, is to be the direct descendant and inheritor of that covenant.

Make safe the way that leads to thee/and close the path to misery.
This refers once more back to Isaiah Chapter 40: Verse 3. "The voice of him that cryeth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a high way for our God." This coupled with the previous verse points to the fact that the high way to God, that express lane to Heaven, is through Jesus, the inheritor of the Abraham covenant and the fulfillment of the Isaiah prophecy.

Veni, veni Adonai!
Qui populo in Sinai,
Legem dedisti vertice,
In maiestate gloriae.

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

O come, O come, great Lord of might/Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height/In ancient times one gave the law/In cloud of majesty and awe.
This entire verse refers to the giving of the Ten Commandments on the top of Mount Sinai to Moses, who in turn gave it to the Israelites, God's chosen people. This is the law that Jesus comes to fulfill, not to replace, as I mentioned above.

There are other lyrics in English, but the official Latin lyrics end there. The rest of the English lyrics go on to speak about Jesus in terms of the Rod of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) delivering people from Satan's tyranny and delivering the souls of humanity.


From Florida where I will be decorating a palm tree (Yes, I really do decorate a palm tree), here's me wishing all of those who read this, a very merry Christmas. Tune in tomorrow and see the next installment of Christmas lyrics I'll be breaking down!