Thinking Christmas   

O Come, Emmanuel  - 12th century hymn 

O come, O come, Emmanuel, 

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,

And order all things, far and nigh; 

To us the path of knowledge show,

And cause us in her ways to go.

O come, Desire of nations, bind

All peoples in one heart and mind;

Bid envy, strife, and quarrels cease;

Fill the whole world with heaven's peace.

Prophecy

Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has come and has redeemed his people.

He has raised up a horn of salvation for us

in the house of his servant David...

And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation 

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God, 

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven...

Luke 1:67-69; 76-78

NIV