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Hymn Reflection:
“Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus”
This hymn was first published by Charles Wesley in 1744 in a collection of hymns celebrating the birth of Christ. The two simple verses contain some powerful petitions and repetitions. Dr. Michael Hawn, professor of sacred music at Perkins School of Theology, invites us to pay attention to the six imperative verbs:
Come . . . release . . . find . . . bring . . . rule . . . raise.1 These words have a pleading, almost desperate feel about them. They are meant to capture the deep longing of Israel awaiting the promised Messiah. They are also meant to capture our own longing for a Savior to release us from sin, help us find rest, bring us hope, rule in our hearts, and raise us to God.
Note, too, the repetitions. Born is mentioned four times: “born to set thy people free . . . Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign in us forever.” We long for the joy of new life. Yet the hope of God doing a new thing in us comes through pleading. To say, “Praise be to God!” is most meaningful when it follows the plaintiff cry, “How long, O Lord?” Waiting is a necessary discipline for the altogether Christian.
Zechariah the priest models this spiritual attitude. He and his wife, Elizabeth, spent their life together waiting for a baby. By the time they are introduced to us they are well beyond childbearing years. Despite being devout, they were not able to carry out their covenant responsibility of bearing children. Added to this disappointment was the social stigma, which typically fell on the wife, of God’s judgment causing their barrenness. No doubt words like release us, deliver us, and be born in us were repeated petitions in their prayers.
Then, one day, while his division was serving at the temple, Zechariah’s name was chosen for the twice-daily ritual of entering the holy place to burn incense. This was a rare opportunity. The Jewish priests at that time were divided into twenty-four divisions. Each division served two weeks a year, and each day two priests were chosen for the honor of burning incense. With a large number of priests and so few opportunities each year, many were never chosen. Once a priest was selected, his name was removed from the list, so each priest would serve once in his life, if at all. On this day Zechariah not only had a once-in-a-lifetime experience, he heard from the angel Gabriel that his prayer had been heard and he and Elizabeth would have a child. That child would be John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus.
Waiting precipitated fulfillment. I don’t know why God doesn’t answer prayers more quickly. Waiting feels like a fruitless nuisance to me most of the time. Yet the Bible affirms that the most significant of saints had to wait before experiencing what they were waiting for. Accepting the importance of waiting, I find that it helps me keep perspective. God is God and I am not. If my prayers were answered on my schedule, God would be little more to me than a magic genie.
As well, I learn to trust God more. Looking with hindsight, I often realize how getting what I want when I wanted it would not have turned out so well. I keep that in mind when I wait and pray for God to help me trust that God’s will is prevailing even when I can’t see it. As an old saying goes, “What happens in us while we wait is just as important as what we are waiting for.”
So what are you waiting for this Advent season? More important, how are you waiting for it?
Rev. Rob Fuquay
1Michael Hawn, “History of Hymns: Hymn Expresses Longing for Arrival of Our Savior,” Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church, accessed July 17, 2019, https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-hymn-expresses-longing-for-arrival-of-our-savior.