Advent – Day 5

“Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth!”

I really love the title of this hymn and all that it encompasses. I have realized that are a couple distinct situations in my own life that usually end with me feeling far away from God and longing for the Redeemer of my soul to come near.

Sometimes, I look for fulfilment in all the wrong places, and I settle for something less than Jesus. Once I finally turn my eyes from the world I’ve been so preoccupied with, it can feel like waking up in a lonely desert wasteland where the ground cracks open with thirst, all alone and vastly distant from the presence of Jesus. Other times, I’m just caught up in doubt, and I find myself asking, “God, where are You?”

The Lord has gently been reminding me that these are just feelings. Maybe we feel like we’ve traveled miles and miles from His presence, or maybe we doubt because we can’t physically perceive Him, but in reality, He has always been incomprehensibly near, constantly surrounding us with His deep and irreversible love for us.

I’m reading a book right now called “Becoming Myself: Embracing God’s Dream of You” by Stasi Eldredge (which I highly recommend). In many of the beautifully vulnerable prayers that she has written throughout the book, she leads readers to simply asks Jesus to “come” for us. To come into various memories, into our brokenness, and to the various areas of our existence so that we can be healed.

Something profound that Jesus has shown me through this process is that He does come for us- every day of our lives.

His promise of Him coming back for us one day is as sure as His promise that He is here now. He declares His endless presence in Matthew 28:20 (AMP):

“…and lo, I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.”

It is even shown in the lovely verses of Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV):

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”

He will faithfully meet us in our sorrows, our victories, our quiet moments, our loneliness, our joys, our boredom, and in our fears. Even through our distraction and doubt, He is immeasurably and infinitely near.

I love the longing for Jesus’ first coming that is beautifully resonated in the lines of hymns like “Come Though Redeemer of the Earth!” I think that they can be interpreted both as holy anthems of our desire for Jesus to come back for us, as well as a demonstration of our longing for Jesus to come and be with us in the here and now. I want to joyfully look forward to the day when our Redeemer of the earth will come back for us and we will physically perceive His closeness. I also want to remember what God has already done, how He came and still comes, and have faith that He is nearer than we can comprehend, even in this very moment.

Come, Thou Redeemer of the Earth
Words by: Saint Ambrose of Milan

Come, Thou Redeemer of the earth,
And manifest Thy virgin birth:
Let every age adoring fall;
Such birth befits the God of all.

Begotten of no human will,
But of the Spirit, Thou art still
The Word of God in flesh arrayed,
The promised Fruit to man displayed.

The virgin womb that burden gained
With virgin honor all unstained;
The banners there of virtue glow;
God in His temple dwells below.

Forth from His chamber goeth He,
That royal home of purity,
A giant in twofold substance one,
Rejoicing now His course to run.

From God the Father He proceeds,
To God the Father back He speeds;
His course He runs to death and hell,
Returning on God’s throne to dwell.

O equal to the Father, Thou!
Gird on Thy fleshly mantle now;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.

Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
And twilight never intervene.

All laud to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete.