December 19: With and Without
♫ Music:
Saturday, December 19
Scripture: Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Poem: O Emmanuel
Author: Malcolm Guite
O Emmanuel
O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.
WITH AND WITHOUT
“Make a womb of all this wounded world…”
That prayerful, poetic line from Malcolm Guite’s O Emmanuel, coupled with the solemn beauty of Joaquin Sorolla’s The Virgin Mary, captures the deep mystery of the Incarnation—the God-with-us wonder of Emmanuel.
God with us. Those three words capture not only the season of Christmas but the entirety of Scripture, from the first chapters of Genesis to the last chapters of Revelation. In the beginning, God creates humans to dwell with him in the garden, but they sin and the “with us” union is broken. In the end, the union is restored: “God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
God himself will be with them—that is always and ever the hope of the world.
“God with us” shows up throughout Scripture, hints and foretastes of the restoration of God’s communion with mankind. We see it in the sacred spaces of Israel’s tabernacle (“the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle,” Ex. 40:35) and temple (“the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord,” 1 Kings 8:11). We see it in the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2) and in the promise of God’s presence to his disciples in Matt. 28: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The pregnant womb of the virgin Mary is the climax and point of convergence for this biblical theme of “God with us.” Mary’s womb is the garden, the tabernacle, the temple, the New Jerusalem. It is sacred space, the dwelling place of God. In its own humble way it is the most grandiose throne room the world has ever seen. A tiny new life that would bring life everlasting to a dying world.
With all the fragility of an unborn fetus. Without all the fanfare expected of a messiah. A world without hope. Mary with child. With-ness for a world without.
With its wars, refugee migrations, suicide bombings and beheadings, our world bleeds from every crevice of its broken communion. Whether orphans, divorcees, persecuted or persecuting, we are a people torn apart by the without-ness of sin.
And yet God is with us. Always. To the end of the age. The Spirit of God is here, in those who believe. And with that balm, our fractured relationships can begin to heal. Believers can glimpse and anticipate the ultimate “with” of Revelation 21, when “God himself will be with them” and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
With and without. Now and not yet. This is the beautiful tension of Advent.
PRAYER
O Christ, Our Emmanuel:
Our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Savior:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
Amen.
Brett McCracken, Associate Director of Presidential Communications
About the Artist and Art
Virgin Mary
Joaquin Sorolla
Oil on Canvas
Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Joaquin Sorolla (1863-1923) was one of Spain’s greatest painters. Sorolla was born in Valencia, excelling in the painting of portraits, landscapes, and monumental works of social and historical themes. His most typical works are characterized by a dexterous realism of the people and landscape under the sunlight of his native land. Sorolla’s work can be found in museums and private collections throughout Spain, Europe and America. In 2007, Many of Sorolla’s works were exhibited at the Petit Palais in Paris, France alongside those of his good friend and contemporary, John Singer Sargent. Sorolla’s meditative Virgin Mary reflects the longing and anticipation associated with the seventh Antiphon, O Come Emmanuel!
Website: www.joaquin-sorolla-y-bastida.org
About the Poet
Malcolm Guite (b. 1957) is a poet, author, Anglican priest, teacher and singer/songwriter based in Cambridge, England. He has published four collections of poetry: Saying the Names, The Magic Apple Tree, Sounding the Seasons: Poetry for the Christian Year, and The Singing Bowl. His writing has been acclaimed by Rowan Williams and Luci Shaw, and his Antiphons appeared in Penguin’s Best Spiritual Writing 2013, edited by Philip Zaleski. Guite’s theological works include What Do Christians Believe? and Faith, Hope, and Poetry: Theology and the Poetic Imagination. He is a scholar of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the British poets and serves as Bye-Fellow and chaplain at Girton College at the University Cambridge, supervising students in English and theology and lecturing widely in England and America. Guite plays in the Cambridge rock band Mystery Train, whose albums include The Green Man and Dancing through the Fire.
Website: www.malcolmguite.wordpress.com
About the Music
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”
Lyrics
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here;
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
About the Hymn
“O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was written by an anonymous monk in 800 A.D. It was rediscovered by an Anglican priest named John Mason Neal. Neal came across the hymn in the early 19th century while at a church in Madira Islands near Africa, where he was opening and orphanage. The accompanying tune was written in the 15th century by French Franciscan nuns who were ministering in Portugal and translated it from Latin to English. Its history and lasting impact speak to its depth and beauty.
Website: www.aproundtable.org/history-blog/
About the Performers
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who served as the lead vocalist as part of a worship band at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. Casting Crowns later moved to Stockbridge, Georgia, where more members joined. Some members of the band currently work as ministers for Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia. The group has won various Grammy and Dove Awards. Hall says, “I think God has given us a platform where we can talk honestly about issues important to Christ’s heart.”
Website: www.castingcrowns.com