O Come Emmanuel 11: Joy's Rejoicing

My tenth Christmastide reflection on that beautiful carol, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, focusses upon its refrain’s first two lines:

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel…

There is much laughter and merriment at this time of year. Yet it is hollow and unsatisfying, for it is borne of drink, or gluttony, of cheesy Hollywood films or cloying sentiment. There is, of course, genuine happiness, as families reunite and old friends get in touch. Yet some friends don’t bother, and some families are riven by bickering and feuds. Even the presents we buy are usually excessive, feeding the insatiable bellies of Big Business and global capital. The only real joy comes from the source of joy: God. As the angel explained to the Judaean shepherds:

“Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11)

The shepherds were not to revel in the angelic fireworks, nor to celebrate the commencement of their two-thousand-year-long careers of fame, but in the God-Man who had been born a few miles hence. The world will tell you to rejoice, but give no reason. The angel, and also the carol, provide that: Emmanuel has come.

This is the real meaning of Christmas.
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 Day-Spring, 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 didst give the law,
In cloud, and majesty, and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

From the text of the 1851 translation by John Mason Neale of the twelfth-century hymn Veni, Veni, Emmanuel, published in Hymns Ancient and Modern (1861).