O Come, Emmanuel Sermon Series
November 27 - December 24th
Did you know that the origin of the beloved Advent hymn, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, dates all the way back to the 9th century? On the last 7 days prior to Christmas one of the Latin “O Antiphons” was chanted in anticipation of Christmas Eve. Each of these antiphons or verses contains a different name for the coming Messiah, our Savior Jesus. “O Emmanuel” was the last antiphon sung before Christmas. In Latin, the first letter of each name creates an acrostic: “SARC ORE.” When reversed it reads “ERO CRAS” which translates “Tomorrow, I will come.”
In the 1800’s John Mason Neale translated a 12th-century metrical version of this chant into the hymn we sing today. Mason made the final antiphon, “O Emmanuel,” the first verse of the hymn. Each Sunday and Wednesday in this Advent season we, as God’s people today, will focus on the Gospel message of the seven verses of this ancient hymn ending with the first verse, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
Just like all of God’s people who have come before us we live in a fallen world in need of a Savior. As we await the celebration of His first coming on the first Christmas, we also await His second coming when He will return in all His glory on the last day. Our prayer continues to be: O Come, Emmanuel!
