O Come Emmanuel

The idea for this poem came from Faith Visuals -- if you go to that link, and watch the sample video in the upper left hand corner, you'll find the first man. It's a great little video (less than 4 minutes). As for the other people in the poem, perhaps you will find a reflection of someone you know -- I do.

The man awoke on a cold, gray morning
To the sound of his alarm.
Alone in his bed.
The day began as it always did,
With the newspaper, quiet breakfast, coffee.
An hour later he was in the car
On his way to work
And he had still spoken to no one.

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..

The teacher stood in the front of her class,
The students were out of control.
They had no vision of what could be.
It was all disruption and frustration.
She longed to be what she thought she would be.
She wanted to make a difference,
And yet she stood alone,
With no support in this sea of faces.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go

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

His home had been prison.
His bed was now in one-last-chance.
One more time,
To try to make a difference.
To try to find freedom from addiction.
One final attempt.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

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

He stood beside the grave,
The hand of his small daughter clutched tightly.
Neither one of them understood why --
Why they were now alone.
He would do his best to raise their child
Without her mother,
But it wasn't the way he wanted it to be.

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

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

Reality and psychosis were one.
Indistinguishable to him.
Medication helped, but didn't cure,
And he was never free from the voices.
They grew louder,
Until sometimes they were all that he could hear.
Unexpected death became freedom.
A sad reality, but grace found.

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.

They came to church on Thursdays.
On Thursdays, they were welcome,
Expected, even.
They came for food, for prayer, for the Word.
God had found them a place,
But He longed for them to have more.
God longed for them to have a home.

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

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

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