Pastor’s Corner “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons”

Yesterday, Wednesday December 17, began the Octave (eight days) leading up to Christmas. One of the ancient traditions of the Church is to pray, chant, or sing the seven “O Antiphons,” one every day until Christmas Eve, and then all seven on Christmas Eve. It’s a wonderful way of praying through the titles in Scripture given to Jesus, our coming King. You may not realize it, but you know these Antiphons. They are the seven verses of “O Come Emmanuel”:

O come, O come, Thou Wisdom from on High…Thou Lord of Might…Branch of Jesse’s Tree…Key of David…Dayspring from on High…Desire of Nations…Emmanuel.

There’s a prophetic symmetry to the reverse order of the Latin titles. Emmanuel (God with us), Rex (King), Oriens (Dawn), Clavis (Key), Radix (Root), Adonai (Lord), Sapienta (Wisdom). The first letter of each forms the Latin acrostic, “Ero cras.” Translated: “Tomorrow, I will come.”—the promise of Jesus, the object of our Hope-Full Waiting in Advent.

I encourage you to begin or end each day leading up to Christmas Eve by contemplating these Antiphons. You can use the familiar hymn “O Come Emmanuel,” or perhaps read the slightly different but profound older versions alongside Scripture. (Use “The Great ‘O’ Antiphons” as a guide.)

The poet Malcolm Guite has written one stirring sonnet for each Antiphon. I share his concluding sonnet below, and join in his prayer that Jesus would “Unfold for us the mystery of grace/And make a womb of all this wounded world.”

O Emmanuel

O come, O come, and be our God-with-us,

O long-sought with-ness for a world without,

O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.

Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name,

Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,

O quickened little wick so tightly curled,

Be folded with us into time and place,

Unfold for us the mystery of grace

And make a womb of all this wounded world.

O heart of heaven beating in the earth,

O tiny hope within our hopelessness

Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,

To touch a dying world with new-made hands

And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.

Your Pastor in Christ,