Fourth Sunday of Advent--Violet

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

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.

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.

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.

In honor of the fourth Sunday of advent, a beautiful (if occasionally tediously slowly sung) hymn. This song reminds us of how appropriate it is for us to go home at Christmas--the Incarnation is the beginning of our redemption from exile (we, like the Israelites who were born in exile, haven't yet seen our home)--the Incarnation provides the potential for us to become gods and to know our home.

Going home provides us a glimpse of what heaven will be like. Going home is delightful because you see again places you know very well (and you love them because of your knowledge of them). And you know them differently upon your return, because of the experiences you've had while away. Walking through downtown Williamsport in the evening reveals Plankenhorn's, the local stationary shop that looks like it's straight out of a movie in the 70's (and with some stationary that's been around that long), and the bank, which has a grand classical facade with ornate columns that immediately devolves into an unremarkable brick structure, and the Genetti, our finest hotel, with its name on top in red glowing neon letters. I delight in all of this and see it differently because of my absence from it. In the same way, I don't think that heaven will be the only thing we'll know once we're there. But our knowledge of other things will only make us love it more.