O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

“We’re in dark cloud,” a guest said on this cold, gloomy, and damp morning.  We began the day with prayer, singing, “It’s me, it’s me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer.  It’s me, it’s me O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. Not my brother, nor my sister, it’s me O Lord standing in the need of prayer.”
In other words, “O come, O come, Emmanuel/And ransom captive Israel/That mourns in lonely exile here.”

About mid-morning, I was approached by a man I didn’t recognize, who came through the front door.

“I just got out of jail.  I need some clothes.  All I have is what I have on.”  

“What’s your name?”

“Emmanuel.”

“Until the Son of God appear/Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel/Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
Emmanuel left with underwear, pants, sweat pants to layer under his pants, socks, t-shirt, long-sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, hat, gloves, scarf, and hygiene items.

Into the house came another guest whose name turned out to be Emmanuel.  He was not coherent.  Wild hair and eyes.  More like John the Baptist, including the fiery preaching he was doing.  Coffee strangely calmed him down.  Because they come from poverty, there is rarely sustained treatment for those guests with mental illness.  Our society’s neglect of the poor and the poor who struggle with mental illness ill is satanic.
“O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free/Thine own from Satan's tyranny/From depths of Hell Thy people save/And give them victory o'er the grave.”
Into the house came another Emmanuel, but I’ll call her “Mary.”  Her face still showed the bruises of violence.  She was jumped on Sunday by someone who tried to steal her money.  She shared with some bravado on Monday that the guy who attacked her looked worse than her.  She still has her money.  Today was women’s shower day.  Each woman who showered has a story (really a number of stories) of violence they suffered at the hands of men.  Violence against women is so prevalent in our society, and the women on the streets are so vulnerable to such violence.  Where’s the hope for Mary?
“O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer/Our spirits by Thine advent here/Disperse the gloomy clouds of night/And death's dark shadows put to flight.”
Into the house yet another Emmanuel came.  I’ll call her “Elizabeth.”  She told us that she was fresh out of the hospital.  “Smoking is going to kill me,” she said.  “Pray for me to quit smoking.”  Kathleen took her hand and prayed.  When the prayer ended, Elizabeth asked for a purse.  “A prayer and a purse, that’s all I need.”

Then Elizabeth asked Kathleen, “Who was that man we prayed for on death row?”  Kathleen had met Elizabeth for the first time at a vigil at Immaculate Conception Cathedral.  There we had prayed to stop Philip Workman’s execution and the death penalty. 

Philip was executed on May 9, 2007.  For his last meal he requested that pizzas be served to homeless people in Nashville.  We served pizza at Manna House in his memory and his picture still adorns our laundry room.  We still advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.

“He died for no good reason,” said Elizabeth.
“O come, Thou Key of David, come/And open wide our heavenly home/Make safe the way that leads on high/And close the path to misery.”
Emmanuel means “God is with us.”  In the face of the deep injustices we perpetuate in our society sometimes it is difficult to believe that “God is with us.”  A guest stood off from prayer this morning, and later said, “I just find it hard to pray these days.” 
“O come, O come, Thou Lord of might/Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height/In ancient times did'st give the Law/In cloud, and majesty and awe/Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel/ Shall come to thee, O Israel.

In other words, what Sojourner Truth asked fellow abolitionist Frederick Douglass when he despaired of slavery ever ending, “Frederick, is God dead?”