O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree,
    free them from Satan's tyranny
    that trust thy mighty power to save,
    and give them victory o'er the grave.

You come to free us.
Oh, and there is so much
to be freed from–
    fear,
    insecurity,
    mistrust,
    isolation,
    oppression,
    exclusion,
    self-absorption,
    arrogance,
    judgment,
    greed…

Come and free our locked hearts.
Come and free our shackled culture.
Come and free our bound world.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.