We long to see your shalom here
Brokenness resides everywhere
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might
Invade our world, set all things right
Tornadoes, wild fires, flooding and wind,
Creation groans, for all have sinned
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
God’s people from all slavery
Sex traffificking, mass incarceration
And bring peace between every nation
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Dayspring, come and cheer
Our spirits of depression and fear
Disperse the gloomy clouds of shame
And don’t let evil stake a claim
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Key of David, come
Open wide our churches and our homes
Give refuge to the marginalized
Strengthen us to love the despised
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high
Teach us what our hatred might imply
To us give what we need to understand
The stranger and the “other” in this (our?) land
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, desire of nations, bind
Let us have one goal in mind
Overthrow the thrones of ourselves
And place our idols on the shelves
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel
O come, o come, Emmanuel
Our world is waiting to be made well
We long to have your presence here
Restore us Lord, wipe every tear.
Our world is still awaiting God With Us to bring full restoration to every space that brokenness resides.
Creation awaits. Our relationships await. Our country awaits. Our churches await. The powerless and marginalized await. Our hearts await.
Come Emmanuel. Come Lord Jesus.

Haley – thank you for expressing the longings of my heart. My sister dislikes advent songs b/c they’re in the minor key and she sees them as depressing. But those songs remind us of our desperation for a Savior. As a friend used to say, the cradle points to the cross, which is why my nativity scene is overseen not by an angel, but by the cross.