O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

shall come to thee, O Israel.

It may seem odd that you are reading a column that begins with an Advent hymn the day before Christmas Eve. However, all too often in the U.S., we skip right over the Advent season and plunge headlong into Christmas as soon as the trees and decorations start appearing in stores a few days before Halloween. That is a pity since Advent has traditionally been a time of reflection on oneself and the world. 

Advent, in its purest form, is not a countdown to Christmas and feverishly opening the little windows on that calendar hanging on the wall. Advent helps us to understand the need for the Incarnation, which was necessary for Christ to achieve our redemption.

Related: Sunday Thoughts: Advent Looks Backward and Forward

It is true that we have no shortage of people who have sought refuge in the trans movement because it provides cover for their sexual proclivities. But there are also legions of people who have been lured into the doctrines and practices of this fad without the slightest inkling of what they were doing to themselves. Many have become militant, violent, and unpredictable. And then, there are the casualties.

In the video below, you will meet just such a person. Keep in mind that what you are about to watch is laced with profanity and scatological references. You should watch it wearing earbuds or headphones; some readers may want to skip it altogether.

We have a mental health crisis in this country. pic.twitter.com/tqssPYMabc

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 19, 2024

Much of the rhetoric from the trans movement has been vile and often includes threats and incitements to violence. But it is difficult to look at this young man and feel anything but pity. His mind and his emotions have been warped, not only by the rhetoric trends that he follows and possibly the drugs and hormones he has taken, but by the devotion to social media that has become endemic to his generation and provides the counterfeit oxygen he and his peers believe is necessary for their survival. Attention, no matter how fleeting, is the coin of the realm. 

The fact that this person, and so many others like them, are eager to debase themselves on OnlyFans or TikTok demonstrates just how many forces are at work corrupting God's people. This person and those similar to him may cause alarm and disgust for many, but they each have a soul. What we see in this video is a soul that has been horribly twisted and broken by forces that he does not understand. He probably does not even know they exist. 

Following the attack on the German Christmas market, many sharp-eyed readers took note that the legacy media was stating that a car had plowed into the crowd of shoppers. This was likely because, at first blush, many thought that the attacker was a Muslim and wanted to avoid the unpopular response if that was confirmed. But a car did not run those shoppers down; a person did. A lighter did not burn a woman to death on a New York subway; a person did. People, as it turns out, are capable of all sorts of horrible things. While this young man was probably complicit in his own demolition, it is safe to assume he had help.  

One of the things that makes Christianity difficult to swallow, even among many professing Christians, is the idea that one is in need of a savior. We want to assume that we are not broken and perfect just as we are. And that is despite the mountains of evidence to the contrary. As Paul said in Romans, we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Our sins may not be as shocking as those that assail us from the headlines every morning, but they are sins just the same. 

Christmas celebrations are festive, as they should be. But amid the parties, decorations, and the incessant playing and re-playing of Manheim Steamroller music, it is all too easy to forget the reason for the celebration is that we have been offered a way out of a debased and fallen world. As Advent quickly gives way to Christmas over the next two days, it is essential to remember that we are celebrating because we got what we needed, not what we deserved.