A branch shall sprout from the root of Jesse, and the glory of the Lord will fill the whole earth, and all flesh will see the salvation of God
This week (the week preceding Christmas, from Dec 17-23rd) the church prays each day one of the 7 “O Antiphons.” I hear you say to me; Pastor what is an antiphon? An antiphon – from the Greek Antiphonos – meaning, responsive sound, is a liturgical response, sung or prayed in the Liturgy. Either used in the introit Psalm, or in the Psalm of the Day, or in the litany or prayers of the church, or, as is most relevant to us this week (and especially today) in the Gospel acclamation, the verse sung or prayed just before the reading of the Holy Gospel. It is – a prayer or an exaltation, or a call or cry that flows out of us in response to the Word proclaimed or sung, or in preparation for the gospel to be read and received. We have antiphons in our liturgy all the time, all throughout the church year. Every day of the church year. Multiple times a day in the church year (for those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours). But in this last week before Christmas, we sing special antiphons. This week, we sing the “O” Antiphons. Each of these Antiphons are taken form the Prophet Isaiah – each one calling upon Christ to BE to us, the God that He has proclaimed in His Word that He is, with each of these relating to a different one of Christ’s own titles. Praying; O, Wisdom of God. O, Leader of Israel. O, root of Jesse. Key of David, Radiant Dawn, King of All Nations – Emmanuel – come. Come – and do these things which you have promised so to do.
You just heard one of them today already, as the Antiphonal Gospel Acclamation; O Key of David – opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and FREE THE PRISONERS OF DARKNESS. But there are 6 others. Each for every day of the week leading all the way up to Christmas Eve. Each of them, speaking to another title of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each of them, telling us just who and what Jesus is for us. And just what exactly He has come to do for us in this feast of Holy Christmas.
The first of these, O wisdom (from Isaiah 11:2), speaks to us of Christ as Logos, as WORD, reason, wisdom, logic, understanding, as truth. We pray in this Antiphon – O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!
This idea of Christ as wisdom, is one that we find all throughout the prophets, one that we find in the proverbs of King Solomon, son of David, and one that we find most clearly of all in the first chapter of St. John’s Gospel. Jesus Christ is St. John says, He is the Logos, He is reason, He is truth and understanding and wisdom. The scriptures unfold for us a treasure of words regarding the notion of wisdom, in relation to Christ.
- We all know from the whole book of the proverbs, and from the Holy Psalter that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, that knowledge of the holy one is true insight, – but what else does God’s Word speak to us on this matter?
- 1 Cor 1:30: Christ became to us wisdom from God
- Col 2:3: in Christ is hidden ALL treasure of wisdom and knowledge
- Col 3:16: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
- And yet not only do the Scriptures show us that wisdom is found in Christ, which we known from Romans, James, Job, etc, etc. But we know frrom the Proverbs of Solomon, and the book of the wisdom of Solomon that wisdom is in fact, a person. And just which person is that? Solmoon tells us, He says wisdom is that which formed both the heavens and the earth. Its what opens the sky and makes rain pour forth down onto the earth. Wisdom says to us in Prov 8
I have been established from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was ever an earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth, When there were no fountains abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains were settled, Before the hills, I was brought forth; 26 While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields, Or the primal dust of the world. 27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there, When He drew a circle on the face of the deep, 28 When He established the clouds above, When He strengthened the fountains of the deep, 29 When He assigned to the sea its limit, So that the waters would not transgress His command, When He marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 Then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him, 31 Rejoicing in His inhabited world, And my delight was with the sons of men. 32 “Now therefore, listen to me, my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways. 33 Hear instruction and be wise, And do not disdain it. 34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at the posts of my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the LORD;
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Pr 8:24–35.
And this, why? Why do the biblical authors, why do the church fathers call Jesus the pesonification of wisdom, of reason of Logos? Because, All of these things (truth, wisdom, knowledge, understanding – etc), are found where? In Christ! For only in Christ does one know God. Only through Christ does one see the truth of God as being who, and as He truly is. For He himself is truth. He Himself is the way. He Himself is wisdom. Only in Him do we know and find the TRUTH(s) of God revealed to the world. Only seeing Him, knowing Him, Hearing Him, learning from Him – can we find the path of truth, the way to walk, the life to live, and the faith to believe. And so we pray – in anticipation of His Christmas coming; come, TEACH US. And so He does. He comes and He teaches us. He teaches us who He is (God in flesh, who is God, who’s with God, – come and having taken on flesh to dwell among us). He comes, to teach us who GOD is (relational and loving, incarnational and near to us, self-sacrificial and abundantly merciful). And He comes to teach us how we might walk in Him (as Paul says, Have this mind of Christ in you – emulate this life and way of being shown to you in Christ,; who though being divine, did not use His divinity for His own enjoyment, but laid its privileges aside – voluntarily lowering Himself to a human estate, becoming man. Becoming a baby. Suffering with us, alongside us, and being crucified – dying in our place. That we might KNOW and SEE and LEARN, in Him, by Him, and through Him, the way, the life, and the meaning of love. This is Christ – Being wisdom, teaching wisdom. The true Word and truth of God, – come to us in Christ. And so we pray – COME, TEACH US WHO YOU ARE. TEACH US, of the God we have. Teach us how to love!
This He does, in His birth, in His life, and in His death for us. In all of these things, and through all of these things, He makes Himself our redeemer. The one who has rescued us from all sin, from all death, and even from the power of the devil. Granting us the way to eternal life through His work for us on the cross – and showing us thereby, the way of eternal life – that we might walk as those who have been redeemed, and so through our walking in that same cruciform and cross shaped love, redemptively love others as He has loved us. In this way – we FOLLOW Christ who is our leader. The one who has gone before us. In this way – we FOLLOW His law. The true law. The law of Christ, the law of love. The law that Moses could only imperfectly reflect. And so we pray for this greater and truer law. Praying in hope for the true leader, and the true lawgiver to come, and to redeem us, rescue us, and conform us to His way and image. And so we sing our second antiphon, praying; O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!Lead us, we pray; that is, in the way that we should go. Giver of the Law; that is both in the Mosaic sense and in the fullest and truest sense in the love of the cross. Rescue us; that is, from our slavery to sin, death, and the power of the devil. Come – we pray, rescue us in your mighty power. Lead us toward the promised land of the new Jerusalem. Lead us to your peace. Lead us in hope, by your grace and truth. And rescue us by your love, through your cross.
Our third Antiphon speaks to us again about His work in saving us. But this time, we hear of Christ as being the root of Jesse’s Stem and the SIGN of God’s love for His people. Praying; O Root of Jesse’s Stem sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!This is, of course – Isaiah 11:1. Israel had been cut to the root. The tree that the Lord had planted had been cut to the stump. But – form the stump, Isaiah prophesied, shall come a root, a shoot, a flower, a rod – and it shall blossom and bloom and produce abundant fruit, He said. That is, new life – from death. Hope, from despair. Light – from darkness. And so it was from the line of Jesse (David’s father), the hopeless, cut off, and cut down family tree – would come a NEW hope for all people. This hope would be – a SIGN, of God’s love for all people. A sign. And this we heard of earlier today didn’t we? The Lord spoke to Ahaz… the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel. A sign of God’s love for you, His taking on flesh to dwell with you. His being with you. His being for you. His coming down low for you. By this we know His love. By this – we know His salvation. By this – we know He is with us. By this we know He is for us.
But not only is He the root of Jesse’s stem, but He is also the KEY OF DAVID, Jesse’s son. O Key of David opening the gates of God’s eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness! The key, the hinge, the one who opens the gates of God’s kingdom. They key – which frees us from our bondage and slavery in the deep darkness of death. He is our liberation, He is our freedom, He is our way into eternal life. Know this – it is not your works or goodness that get you into heaven. It is not even your faith. Hear this. It is not your faith. It is Christ Himself. It is Christ Himself who is your salvation. It is Christ Himself who is your freedom. It is Christ Himself who is your way to the Father. Not you. Not anything in you, or around you, or from you, or beside you, or about you. Thank God! But He who has come and freed you and claimed you is all of this for you and to you. And so we pray – our freedom, our salvation, our redemption, our JESUS – COME – and free all those who are found enslaved in the deep darkness of sin. Come – and free your people.
All of this so far we already know and pray in the Gospel canticle for morning prayer – the Benedictus, the song of Zechariah, as the church sings; blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for has come to His people and set them free, He has raised up for us a mighty savior born of the house of His servant David. Through His holy prophets He promised of old that He would save us from our enemies, and from the hands of all who hates us. He promised to show mercy to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant. This was the oath He sword to our father abaraham, to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to wroship Him without fear, holy and righteous in His sight all the days of our life, and you my child shall be the prophet of the most high, for you shall go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins, And in the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on High shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
And this is exactly where we have been so far, in these “O Antiphons,” and this is exactly where we’re going. From the point of the COMING of God into the world to set free and to liberate His captive people. Coming to BE for us our mighty savior, of the stump of Jesse, of the house of David. Come to save us. Come to set us free. Come to guide our feet into the way of peace. And yes even, as we come now to our fourth Antiphon. Come to break the dawn upon all those who are steeped in the deepest of darkness. And so we pray; O Radiant Dawn splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death. Come – and shine your light of righteousness upon those who sit in the darkness of sin, that we might be illumined and enlightened by your goodness. And so glow with a reflection of your fire divine. – COME. And enlighten our darkness. Come – and break open this deep dark night, and pour fourth your radiant light.
This we pray to our Lord Christ because He is our King. For as we confess in our Small Catechism, He (Jesus Christ, both true God and true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the Virgin Mary), has done ALL THIS (has redeemed me, bought me, purchased me, and won me by His birth, by His death, and by His resurrection) ALL – so that I might live nuder Him in His kingdom, and so that He might be my good faithful, and just King. Just as He is king of all things. King, of all nations. King of all peoples, King – of all creation. And so we pray to our King in the 6th Antiphon – ‘O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust! For He reigns and rules over all things, just as He upholds and has formed all things, so also He redeems ad saves all things – and holds all things together. For He is the King, He is the creator, He is the savior, and He is the chief stone of the corner. The keystone, and the capstone, and the cornerstone of His holy church. The head of the body. And so we pray; “come. And save that which you have created.
And as He comes, He shows Himself to be just what we heard Him proclaimed to be in both of our readings this evening. Emmanuel. God with us. The same God who created all things. The same God of the old testament who gave the law to moses and shephereded His O.T. People of Israel. The same God who raised up prophets. – now has come to save His people by His own birth, blood, and death. To speak to His people, by the words of His own mouth. Come to show the way, by His own life lived in love. Come to be not merely our God. But our Emmanuel. Our God WITH US. Our king – with us. Our Lawgiver, our savior – with us. Here among us. Living for us. Dying for us. Rising for us. Coming to be with us us. Dwelling among us. Our Emmanuel. And so we pray; O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!
In each and every one of these antiphons, we look at a different title that Christ has given to Himself, and we grasp it in faith. And call upon God to BE WHO HE HAS SAID HE IS. To come – and save us. To come, and be our King. TO come, and overcome our darkness. To come – and to liberate, to save, to redeem. To come and to be. The Christ we need.
And so we pray; O that you would come and save us. O, that you would come and love us. O , that you would come and dwell among us. O, that you would come, and that you would be WHO YOU ARE, that we might know, believe and receive that our God, that our king, that our Lord, is here.
And indeed – on this cusp – this hinge, between Advent and Christmastide. We know, that He has come, that He is coming, and that He will come again.
And so we pray all the more., – come, Lord Jesus. Come and save us.
