At a recent Advent Music retreat lead by Sr. Susan Barber,
we listened to a recording of the song “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” I’ve sung
this song every year since I was a child, but this time something new caught my
ear: the echo of the word “rejoice.”
It is enlightening to look at the origins of the word “rejoice.”
The word-forming element “re-” means “back to the original place; again, anew,
once more.” The Latin “re” is thought to come from the Indo-European “wret,” a
variant of “wert,” meaning “to turn.” “Joir” is French for “be glad.” Thus at
Christmas we are called to turn to gladness again, to let it echo in our lives
not just once a year but for all eternity, for Emmanuel has come to dwell with
us forevermore. The seasons of Advent and Christmas remind us that we cannot
let the worries of the present age obscure our everlasting joy at the once and
always coming of God, Light of Lights, Wonder-Counselor, Prince of Peace.
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