Let the message of Christ, in all its richness, find a home with you. Teach each other, and advise each other, in all wisdom. With gratitude in your hearts sing psalms and hymns and inspired songs to God; and never say or do anything except in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
O Key of David and scepter of the house of Israel, you open and no one can close; you close and no one can open. O come and bring captives out of the prison house, those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
We believe that these barren branches will sprout new green growth come Spring
O Root of Jesse, you stand as an ensign to the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths and nations will bow in worship. O Come and deliver us and do not tarry.
Probably this is as close as I’ll ever come to a burning bush
O Adonai and Leader of the House of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
Today we sing, “O Wisdom”, or as it was in the original Latin in the 7th century, “O Sapientia”.
O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and reach from one end of the earth to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things. O come and teach us the way of prudence.
If you have ever sung the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” you have sung the O Antiphons. And while this song has been sung, in recent years, throughout the Advent and Christmas season. Traditionally, these antiphons are chanted before the Magnificat during evening prayer – from December 17th thru the 23rd (a different antiphon each day). These “O” antiphons address the Christ who is coming to us with a different biblical title. Originally these were chanted in Latin, and the first letters of the titles, read in reverse order, form the acrostic (also in Latin) “Ero cras”, which means “I will be with you tomorrow”, in answer to our prayer for Christ to come to us.
This week, as we anticipate the coming of Christ . . . the dawning of the light . . . in our lives, OPreach will celebrate these O Antiphons each day.
May the Blessings of Emmanuel – God with us – rest upon each of us as we approach Christmas Day.
OPreach 