Antiphon VII:O Emmanuel (Emmanuel, God with Us)

Nativity

artist unknown

O, Emmanuel, king and lawgiver,
desire of the nations, Savior of all people,
Come and set us free, Lord our God!

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.
Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:4 (ESV)

Antiphon VI:O Rex Gentium (King of the Nations)

Light Manifest

Theresa Walker

O Ruler of all the nations,

the only joy of every human heart,
O Keystone of the might arch of mankind
Come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called:

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6 (ESV)

He will judge between the nations

and will settle disputes for many peoples.

They will beat their swords into plowshares

and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not take up sword against nation,

nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 2:4 (ESV)

Antiphon V: O Oriens (Dayspring)

Shade and Darkness - the Evening of the Deluge

Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775- 1851)

O, Radiant Dawn,
splendor of eternal light, sun of justice:
Come, shine on those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2 (ESV)

Antiphon IV: O Clavis David (Key of David)

Expectation, Richard Oelze (1935-36)

O, Key of David, O royal Power of Israel,
controlling at Your will the gate of heaven:
Come, break down the prison walls of death
for those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death;
and lead Your captive people into freedom.

Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:7 (ESV)

Antiphon III: O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)

The Angelus, Jean-Francois Millet (1857)

O Flower of Jesse’s stem,
You have been raised up as a sign for all peoples;
kings stand silent in Your presence;
the nations bow down to worship You.
Come, let nothing keep You from coming to our aid.

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:1 (ESV)

In that day the root of Jesse,
who shall stand as a signal for the peoples
— of him shall the nations inquire,
and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isaiah 11:10 (ESV)

Antiphon II: O Adonai (Lord)

Moses Before the Burning Bush, Marc Chagall (1887-1985)

O, sacred Lord of ancient Israel,

who showed Yourself to Moses in the burning bush,
who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain.
Come, stretch out Your right hand to set us free.

But with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,
and faithfulness the belt of his loins.
Isaiah 11:4-5 (ESV)

For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;
the LORD is our king; he will save us.
Isaiah 23:2 (ESV)

Antiphon I: O Sapientia (Wisdom from on high)

The Creation of the World, Gabriel Cohen (1979)

O Wisdom, O holy Word of God,
You govern all creation
with Your strong yet tender care.
Come and show Your people the way to salvation.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and might,
the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.
He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide disputes by what his ears hear...
Isaiah 11:2-3 (ESV)

"O" Antiphons

The "O" antiphons are ancient prayers that, traditionally have been chanted or sung and date back as early as the 7th century. They cover a distinct period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, December 17-23. The prayers are significant because they each highlight a title for the Messiah and refer to Isaiah's prophecy of the coming Messiah.

Carl Stam (from Worship Quote of the Day) points out that the anonymous poet (or poets) who put the original Latin texts together also included an interesting hidden message in the form of an acrostic. If you take the first letter that follows the "O" in each verse and turn it around you'll find...

"ERO CRAS," a two-word Latin sentence which means, "I will be tomorrow."

The various prophetic names (O Key of David, O Radiant Dawn) were ordered in a way that also pointed to the coming of Christ. Very cool.

Over the next 7 days, I will be posting the "O" antiphons along with the correlating passages from Isaiah so that we may continue to "prepare a place" for Christ, our Emmanuel this Advent season. I will also be posting a painting by various artists (inspired by another Advent devotional) that reflect some of the themes of the prayers.

Light Pierces the Darkness

Walter Wangerin writes about the light of Christ, which pierces the cold darkness of this world in his excellent advent devotional, Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom.

The light of Christmas shines into our darkness! We should be the walking dead. What we deserve, in fact, is the absence of God - a cold and cosmic isolation - for this is our sin, that we chose to be gods in the place of God. In the day we disobeyed we began to die. We should, therefore, be dwelling in a land of deep darkness, mistrust, hatreds, hopelessness, finality and death.

But here in a child comes God, the light! And light in darkness in a frightening thing. ("People loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" John 3:19.) O my friend, a self-examination both humble and true must cause us to tremble before the living God... But even as we feared, so do we rejoice when we hear the light say, "Don't be afraid. I have not come to punish but to give you life...I am the Savior born for you."

(Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom, pp. 60-61)

In the Midst of the World's Shouts

Sometimes it feels like the rough and noisy sounds and images that contain the empty sentimentalism of the season can overwhelm our thoughts and prevent us from turning our hopes and hearts to the advent of Christ. I'll be honest, I've been struggling to "prepare a place" this week as I have been almost consumed with the details of The Crossing's recent Family Christmas Celebration. I think it's a struggle for everyone.

Henri J. M. Nouwen gives a good word of encouragement in turning our attention back to Christ.

I keep expecting loud and impressive events to convince me and others of God's saving power...our temptation is to be distracted by them. When I have no eyes for the small signs of God's presence - the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children , the words of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends - I will always remain tempted to despair.

The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he asks for my full attention. The work of salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout, scream and overwhelm us with its claims and promises.

(Advent & Christmas Wisdom From Henri J. M. Nouwen, p. 2)

The Season of Advent

The season of Advent is now upon us. The word advent means “coming” or "arrival" and marks a time of tension between "the already and not yet." It is an opportunity to remember Christ's coming and eventual birth in Bethlehem also longing for his second coming. Advent is, quite possibly, my favorite season in the church calendar because it is a call to meditate, pray and wait in that tension.

This Advent, I wanted to spend some time in anticipation together. I will be posting some thoughts and further reflections from different writers and theologians that will help us to anticipate and long for the mystery of Immanuel, God with us.

Below, you'll find a quote from Christ the King Presbyterian Church's 2008 Advent devotional, which was created by Bruce Benedict. The quote gives a further explanation of Advent and will give a bit more context and focus for the posts that are to follow.

The celebration of the season of Advent (which begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas day) dates back to the fourth century. It is a time that focuses our attention on Jesus Christ’s birth and ministry as well as his Second Coming when he will return to redeem all of creation and rule with all power and authority. Since we can’t anticipate the day or the hour of Christ’s return, we are filled with both a sense of joyful expectation and humble reverence, with our spiritual focus being on lives of prayer and preparation. The church has used the season of Advent (which means “coming” or “arrival”) to focus and reflect on the particular themes of John the Baptist’s preparation for the ministry of Christ, the annunciation to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus, Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, and the final judgment. Throughout the season we are constantly reminded that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

Please join me in preparing our hearts for His threefold advent - past, present and future.