As part of my prayer and devotional life as a Benedictine Oblate, I was re-introduced to a beautiful reminder of the meaning of Advent & Christmas – “The O Antiphons.” An “antiphon” is a responsive reading or chant prior to a Psalm or Hymn or other reading. It derives from the words – “opposite voice.” Used by the monks and others, it is what we would know as “responsive reading or singing.” The antiphon is most often a Scripture text.
The “O Antiphons” are used at Vespers (evening prayer) in the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian traditions (December 17 – 23). The “O Antiphon” precedes the praying or singing of the Magnificat (The Song of Mary, Luke 1:46-55), the traditional evening prayer. They are referred to as the “O Antiphons” because the title of each one begins with the exclamation “O”. Each antiphon is a name of Christ, one of his attributes mentioned in Scripture. They are:
December 17: O Sapientia (Wisdom) (Proverbs 8:12, I Corinthians 1:24)
December 18: O Adonai (Lord) (Exodus 19:16)
December 19: O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse) (Isaiah 11:1)
December 20: O Clavis David (Key of David) (Revelation 3:7)
December 21: O Oriens (Dayspring) (Malachi 4:2, Luke 1:78-79)
December 22: O Rex Gentium (King of the nations)
December 23: O Emmanuel (God with us) (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23)
We sing a traditional Advent hymn (UM Hymnal #211) – “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” derived from these antiphons. The text for the hymn comes from antiphon texts dating back to the 8th century – “The O Antiphons.” A metrical version of five of the verses appeared in the 13th century, which was translated into English by J.M. Neale in 1851.
Writer and teacher, Bosco Peters, says of the antiphons, “The O Antiphons come at the end of Advent to tie together the prophetic hopes of a people who have waited not for just three or four weeks for the coming of the Lord, but for whole centuries. There is no knowing now why these particular ancient hints about Bethlehem were chosen instead of any number of others. . . They tell us to be patient just a little while longer, and describe the wonders in store on the other side of Christmas Eve. At the same time, they implore Jesus-to-be-born to tarry not, come quickly, come soon.”
The “O Antiphons” themselves contain a riddled petition of prayer. Written out together across a page in Latin, the first letter of the antiphons (Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia) form a reverse acrostic spelling “Ero cras” translated from Latin - “I will be there tomorrow”.
May we be blessed again by remembering the coming of God into human life in the babe of Bethlehem – Jesus Christ. “O come, O come, Emmanuel” – God with us!
Dr. William H. Wilson (Bill)
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