O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
Table Talk
Setting the Table
You are welcome here. Come just as you are, bringing whatever is on your heart today. Take a few moments and allow yourself to just be. Take a couple deep breaths, grab yourself a cup of coffee, light a candle, do something that brings you comfort. Allow yourself to be present in this moment.
The holiday season can be a time of exquisite joy, but sometimes the pressures to keep up with the demands of the season can steal the joy it was meant to bring.
“I exist as I am, that is enough.”
- Walt Whitman
"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."
- Christian hymn for Advent, translated in 1861 by John Mason Neale
Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Food for Thought
I love Christmas decorations! From elegant wreaths and candle-lit windows, to zany strings of colorful bulbs, to neighborhoods of gum drops hanging high in the trees, to hilariously huge blow-up Santas and reindeer…it all makes me so happy! And I deeply appreciate those who take the time and energy to adorn their yards with such extravagance because, as much as I love decorations, I do NOT love putting them up.
Due to either laziness or busyness, I’m typically more of a minimalist when it comes to accessorizing my home for the holidays. I put a wreath on my door and hang a single string of lights on my porch, and that’s enough for me.
But this year, I felt the need to do more. I desperately needed the Christmas season and all its splendor – the tree lightings, the 24-hour music on the radio, the parades, the silly sweaters…I was so eager for Christmas, I decided that this year I was going to decorate my ENTIRE porch – not just hang one silly string of lights. “The Monday after Thanksgiving,” I thought, “I’ll get started!” I was so pleased with myself and excited to be one of those blessed folks who brings that extra spark of holiday spirit to all the passers-by.
However, the Monday after Thanksgiving came, and life happened, so no decorations went up that day…or the next. Before I knew it, one week later not a single bulb had been lit. I simultaneously felt guilty for not having any decorations up, anxious to get decorations up as soon as possible, and silly for having such an extreme reaction to decorations – as if Christmas itself was hanging on my ability to hang some lights.
The irony was glaring – the pressure I was putting on myself to bring joy was stealing my joy!
I feel positive that many can relate to this story.
This season in particular is full of societal and self-inflicted pressures. You have to attend countless gatherings, buy presents for everyone on your Christmas list, decorate your home, and all the while be brimming with the holiday spirit. All of those things can certainly add to the joy of the season, but I find that it’s easy to allow them to distract us from what Christmas really celebrates – the birth of a savior who came to bring us true joy.
I think about the song “O come, O come, Emmanuel”, and I wonder, aren’t we still “captive” in so many ways? Aren’t we held captive by our false concepts of joy, by the obligations we put on ourselves, by societal pressures? Don’t we still need rescuing from the lonely sense of failure we feel when we fall short of our own expectations?
How do we break free from this captivity? How do we find joyous freedom? The carol reminds us that we find freedom in our Emmanuel – God with us.
Jesus came to abolish the idea that we could ever find more favor with God through any obligation or requirement. He showed us what genuine love and acceptance looks like – we can rejoice in that, indeed!
We are no less beloved if we are a shepherd than if we are a king; no more worthy if we offer gold than if we offer two copper pennies; no more enough if we light up the town with Christmas lights than if we hang no lights at all.
After all, our Emmanuel came to us in famously underwhelming fanfare – greeted by a gathering of stable animals and exhausted parents, adorned in a simple cloth, laid in a humble manger alight by the glow of a single star, and offering a gift that could not be measured by the riches of this world – the gift of true joy for all, simply as we are.
With all the joyous occasions and obligations of the holiday season, give yourself permission to not put more on your plate than you have room for. Bow out of a get-together if attending it would mean stretching yourself too thinly, don’t go bankrupt buying presents, and maybe just hang one string of lights if that’s all you have the bandwidth for. The joy of Christmas does not hang on your ability to do it all.
This holiday season, be present with your loved ones and friends. Create a space that offers a little more grace, love, and true welcome to all who join your table. If you need a few ideas, here are Five Things to Remember When Setting a Welcome Table for the Holidays.
This printable version of today's reflection, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”, is for you to use in whatever way is helpful for you in your journey!
Blessing
God of joy,
Help us to let go of the pressures and to-dos that distract us from you.
May we journey through this holiday season accepting that we are loved by you, regardless of any gift we could give or any lights we could hang.
You love us simply as we are.
A little Table Talk for your table...
Discuss how the pressures of the holiday season can sometimes steal our joy. Do you have a personal example of this?
Share with a friend some burdens you feel during this time that you wish you could offload.
Brainstorm some ways you could release some of the burden you feel – asking someone for help, talking to a friend about your feelings, or simply saying “no thank you” to an invitation.
Try taking it to the Kids Table...
Discuss the idea of joy with your kiddo.
From an early age, we learn that the holidays are jam-packed with festivities. Things can get overwhelming fast! Talk with your child about how they’re feeling during this time. It’s possible that they may be feeling the pressures of the season, too.
Teach your child the joy of giving – for free! Together, pick out some clothes, toys, knickknacks, etc., you no longer use, though still in good condition, and donate them to a local organization or shelter.
Meet Our Welcoming Voice!
The Welcome Table Team - We are “The Bunce Girls!” Originally from Lexington, North Carolina, we were raised surrounded by music, justice, and faith. We spent most of our Sunday afternoons gathered around an open table with family and friends where the food was plentiful, stories and laughter connected our hearts, and where the presence of each individual was held sacred. It’s those moments that have inspired The Welcome Table.
To hear more from the TWT Team throughout the week, follow along on our Instagram!
Here are Five Things to Remember When Setting Your Own Welcome Table!