For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. — Isaiah 9:4

0 Come, 0 Come, Immanuel
0 come, 0 come, Immanuel
And ransom captive Israel.

Living under a burden is like walking every day with an invisible weight that relentlessly presses down on you. You carry it at work, in the car, even at the dinner table. It follows you into the night, filling your last thoughts and robbing you of sleep. Your heart cries out, "How long, 0 Lord, must I sit under this weight?"

God's people in Isaiah's day knew that cry well. They lived under the crushing power of foreign oppressors with no strength to free themselves. Yet, God gave a promise:"For the yoke of his burden, and the staff for his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian." (Isaiah 9:4) This was more than a word for ancient Israel, it was a glimpse of the freedom Christ would bring when he came to ransom his people.

Outside of Christ, we too live under the weight of an oppressor we can never defeat.

Outside of Christ, we too live under the weight of an oppressor we can never defeat. The greatest oppressor is sin, binding our hearts and lives. We are enslaved by sin's guilt and shame, and the fear of death. We live under the oppression of Satan's lies and the world's demands. Our sin is like a debt that only grows, with no power in us to pay it off.

...Christ has freed us from sin's penalty and power, and one day he will free us from sin's very presence.

Yet Christ has broken the yoke of slavery to sin. He has brought liberty to the oppressed. It is only in him that we can truly sing, "O come, 0 come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel." Through his finished work on the cross, Christ has freed us from sin's penalty and power, and one day he will free us from sin's very presence. He is our freedom, breaking the yoke, the staff, and the rod of our oppressors. We no longer live under sin's weight, but under Christ's love and grace.

Freedom in Christ reaches into every corner of life. It brings peace where anger once lived, integrity where fear once haunted us, and trust where despair once ruled. The
freedom Christ secured means one day there will be no more oppression: no sin, no sorrow, no Satan.

We celebrate his first coming, for in his death and resurrection, he secured our freedom, and at his second coming, we will know that freedom in full. If you are in
Christ, this freedom belongs to you. With every square inch of life, we cry out, "O come, 0 come, Emmanuel!" and await his redemption where there is brokenness.

Liturgy

0 Blessed Messiah,
How long had been our enslavement to sin?
How decrepit, how festering, how fetid,
how dark had been our service?
Please, 0 God, forgive us!
We had borne the cuts, stripes, beatings,
and wounds of our evil gods that called
for our blood, destruction, and death.
In bondage, we had called pain our joy,
and suffering our relief.
Please, 0 God, heal us!
Rejoice for the birth of the Liberator,
who smashes the evil gods and
makes dark priests into priests of light.
Glorify our Redeemer, born of woman,
who, with his blood, ransoms slaves of sin and pain
to serve the God of joy and peace.
Worship the Sacrifice, born into a suffering world,
who chained and silenced the gods of death and destruction.
We now bear the armor of beloved children
and honored sons of Adonai,
who are washed and cleansed,
and free to see the world as it really is.
Forever, we will be the Priesthood of Jehovah, our provider.
How joyous, how life-giving, how bright, how adventurous
will be our service to the King of Kings. Beyond all measure!
In the name of theBlessed Messiah,
Amen