O Come, O Come Emmanuel – Neal D. Presa
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.
-Matthew 1:17
20 Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen. -Ephesians 3:20-21
Celebrating the Lord’s Supper every Sunday as we do at Middlesex Presbyterian Church gives us the opportunity to engage in the seminal events of salvation history as narrated by the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving. As with the Jewish understanding of memory, Reformed Eucharistic theology sees in the narration of those events not a mere recalling of a history lesson to be venerated, but rather a remembering to be “re-membered.” That is in the anamnetic narrating (the living memory), the event of the Flood or of the Exodus becomes our story. We are joined together with all of God’s people in all times, in all places, in all generations as we are made members of one body, and become more and more aware of our place in that body of believers. The key to the action of “re-membering” and being united to God and to all of God’s people is the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the epiclesis prayer is the invitation to God to come upon us, to visit us, to work upon us so that our gathering is not simply a gathering, our recalling is not merely a recalling. The singing of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is an epicletic song, inviting, praying, petitioning the Holy One, God-with-us, to be with us, as with all generations.
When our family traveled to the Philippines last year and visited my paternal grandparents, we took this photo called “The Generations,” four generations of the Presa Family represented all at one time:
Every generation looks to its present and hopes for who will come next, as it considers from where it has come. Gathering together with my immediate and extended family, scattered in California, Guam, and the Philippines, brings back the collective memory of what was, what is, and what is ahead. That’s why I love gathering for family feasts and parties: there’s a holy quality of sharing memory, life, hopes, fears, future, struggle, joys.
The opening sections of the Gospel according to St. Matthew reads of a generational expectation. In every succeeding generation, there are covenantal markers. In each and in all, the collective sharing (the living memory) in the midst of struggles and triumphs, fears and joys, “re-membered” the hearers to become more and more a knit community; God was and is forming a people.
God’s initiative at doing community building continues even to this day. The sacred craft of knitting us to each other’s heart and to the heart of God happens because of the triune God who has always been about relationship-building, coming toward us, pursuing us, moving from heaven to earth, reconciling a broken family, renewing creation; the outward movement of God to reach out to the world, to you and to me, is accomplished by God’s power that is beyond what we can ever think or imagine.
Advent is a holy season to expect and await the coming of the anointed Savior (Messiah). As with every generation, we are being knit to one another and to God, so that as with prior generations, God may accomplish extraordinary things through ordinary people like you and me: proclamation of the Gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the kingdom of heaven to the world. These six, as Presbyterians know, are known as “The Great Ends of the Church,” or the purpose of why the Church has been called.
I discover the power and potential of God’s community-building most notably these days in the daily and nightly teleconferences that I have with the ruling elders of my congregation. As you can imagine, my travel these past six months as General Assembly Moderator is crazy-busy. What we did was start a prayer teleconference where every 7:00-7:15 a.m. and 10:00-10:15 p.m., we dial-in a common number, read Scripture from the Daily Lectionary (http://www.presbyterianmission.org/devotion/daily/2012/12/7/), and use The Book of Common Worship (http://bookoforder.info/Book-of-Common-Worship.pdf) daily prayers as our guide (morning prayer: pp. 491-503; evening prayer: pp. 513-523). What we have found since starting this in September is powerful community building, awareness of one another’s needs and concerns, and a calling forth to pray for sisters and brothers in the faith and for people all over the world whom we probably we will never meet. It’s in the Word, together with our weekly celebration of the Lord’s Table, our daily and nightly prayer teleconferences, our fellowship, and our serving together that our generation prepares for the next, and where Emmanuel, God-with-us, accomplishes that which is beyond our thinking and imagining, to the glory and praise of God.
As we approach a new year, may this season of Advent and Christmastide be a sacred time to expect the extraordinary to burst forth from the Spirit of God in your midst, as God builds community among and around you. Re-discover Christ’s call in Word and in Sacrament, in prayer with God’s people, in fellowship with one another, and in service in the world.
Let us fervently worship and serve the Lord in this generation and in all generations, seeking the aid and comfort of our God, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
The Rev. Neal D. Presa, PhD , is Moderator of the 220th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He also serves as Pastor of Middlesex Presbyterian Church in Middlesex, NJ and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at New Brunswick Theological Seminary.
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