Emmanuel Shall Come

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today is the day in the Church Year, every year, when we get the privilege of adding our voices to the ancient choirs who sing throughout the ages the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” We sing the haunting melody and the words of the supplications to the God who is coming to us. So let us take a moment to consider the supplications we offer:

Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.
Come quickly to deliver us.
Come and rescue the prisoners who
     are in darkness and the shadow of death.
Come and enlighten those who sit
     in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Come and save us all, whom You formed out of clay.
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

"How Can This Be?"

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sometimes there are things that make you stop, cock your head, and say “Huh?” Maybe it is a situation that you do not understand. What is going on is beyond your ken, and so you stand, mystified and silent. Or perhaps it is that something so glaringly ridiculous happens that you are caught in your tracks. You look, furrow your brow, and wonder what in the world brought this on. We have all experienced these “Huh?” moments.

Today's Gospel lesson is perhaps one of the biggest “Huh?” moments in all of history. But before Mary, there was one such moment even longer ago. In the Garden, Eve was tempted to ask, “How can this be?” As she was left alone in the midst of the Garden, she came face-to-face with the tree whose fruit was the only thing forbidden to man. The serpent whispers in her ear, “How can this be?” How can it be that the Lord God would put this here, then forbid you eating it, upon pain of death? The Lord wants to give us all good things, so why would He keep this beautiful gift from us? How can it be that simply eating a piece of fruit will kill me?