O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Ransom Captive Israel
Reflections on peace and liberation in a troubled time
Here in Castlemaine, Australia, where I’m writing this on Christmas Eve, it has been raining for much of the evening, and more rain is forecast for Christmas Day. The rain feels like an apt backdrop for Christmas this year, with the tragedies of war continuing to ravage the Ukraine, and now Israel and Gaza (as well as other places less favoured by the Western media’s gaze) casting a pall of sadness and grief over much of our world. At this time, one particular Christmas carol comes strongly to mind for me, ‘O Come, O Come, Emmanuel’. This carol, filled with a poignant longing not found in many other carols, is a cry from the heart for liberation and reconnection or ‘homecoming’, not only of the people of ancient Israel, but of the whole world. How so? In the first line, we hear ‘O come, O come, Emmanuel/ and ransom captive Israel/ that mourns in lonely exile here/ until the son of God doth appear.’ Emmanuel, of course, is Jesus Christ, and Israel was indeed captive at the time, under the control of the Roman Empire.
Yet beyond the literal meaning of these words, we can also understand what is written in this and other sacred texts metaphysically/ Through a metaphysical lens, the people, places and events depicted in the sacred text can be seen to represent aspects of our inner life. Thus in this sacred text, Emmanuel is our higher self or Christ nature, the wise, loving part of us that connects us with all life, and with the joy of being a part of creation. Israel, on the other hand can be understood as our beautiful soul nature, which, in the darkness of ignorance, separation and doubt, is ‘exiled’ from its true home. Only Emmanuel can free the soul from the loneliness of separation and bring it home again.
As we look around us, we might feel cause to be despondent, to believe that Emmanuel’s coming (along with the coming of other great world teachers) did not bring the homecoming for humanity yearned for in this carol. Yet the wise ones say that Christ came to plant a seed in humanity, a seed of the Higher Self, and a new way of living that was aligned with the Higher Self and with trust in creation. Today, we are called more than ever before to seek the Christ within us, not through dogma or orthodox ceremony (though some of us may choose to journey within an orthodox church setting) but through direct experience. And this means cultivating the Christ presence in our thoughts, feelings and deeds so that He/She may truly come to us and free us from fear and separation.
How can we cultivate the Christ presence in this time? There are many aspects to this, but in the context of our troubled world, one of the most important ways is through becoming a bringer of peace in ourselves and in our relationships. Fear, anger and hatred separate us from others, pulling us into our left-brained survival-oriented self in which there is no peace. We need to free ourselves from the control that these emotions seek to exert over us, yet not by denying or repressing them. Rather than saying ‘I am angry’, for example, we could say ‘anger lives in me at the moment’. Subtly, this helps us to stay conscious, to allow the emotion to be present without letting it take over. Then we can wisely respond to the message of distress from the lower brain that the emotion represents. The peaceful path is not about being weak, or dishonest, but about making choices consciously and staying connected to others as part of ourselves and fellow children of God, however far they may have strayed from God’s path, the Good Red Road. We may still need to speak up, or take prudent action to protect ourselves at times, but we will do so with love and respect for the other person/s, and in mindfulness of the welfare of all beings. The peaceful path is also about trust and surrender, for the higher self knows that we are guided and supported along every part of our journey, if we are willing to listen and trust in that loving guidance.
So on this Christmas Day, and in the sacred, liminal time of the 12 Holy Nights that runs from Christmas through until the 6th January, let us welcome Emmanuel/Christ the redeemer and liberator into our hearts; let us seek to embody Christ’s peace and compassion toward all our fellow children of God, Israeli and Palestinian, Ukrainian and Russian, American and Chinese; and let us act with wisdom and courage to play our part in making our little corner of the Earth a better and more peaceful place. For peace doesn’t begin with world leaders, generals or their armies: above all, it begins in our hearts and in our relationships with those around us.
Thanks Keppel