Saturday, December 16, 2023  

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Today’s Hymn

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.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”
from Glory to God: The Presbyterian Hymnal

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Reflection

In this season of Advent, I love that we call God Emmanuel, meaning God-with-us. God is so close to us that God’s very name means that we are never far from God and God is never far from us. Both the words and the melody of the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” are filled with a quality of longing as we call out to God through song, inviting God to draw near, even as God, in the form of Jesus, is already so close to us!

In this verse we call Jesus the “Key of David,” which means he is the king who is descended from the throne of King David. The key of King David opens the doors of the kingdom, and in this case Jesus, God-with-us, opens the doors to our heavenly home, our forever home. This is the kingdom of God. This is a door that no one else can shut (Isaiah 22:22, Revelation 3:7–8), and we pray in this verse that Jesus would make the path to that home a safe path and close the doors in our lives that might lead us down other paths to misery.

Not only does Jesus have the key, but he is the key. O, the hope and the longing in this verse. Let us follow the way of Jesus. Let us turn away from paths of destruction and misery. Let us rejoice for the great love that God has for us. Let us rejoice that we have a heavenly guide who has traveled the earthly way and can understand all that we experience in this life.

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Prayer
God of Holiness, guide me today so that I may follow the path and the way of Jesus. Help me to know that I am at home in you, and you are present with me, each and every moment, in this life and into the next. Amen.

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Written by Nanette Sawyer, Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Small Group Ministry

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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