Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Isaiah 40:3 ESV
In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Revelation 22:6-7, 18-20 NRSV
And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place. See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this book; if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away that person’s share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. The one who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Titus 2:11-14 NRSV
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.
The First “O Antiphon” – Wisdom[1]
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High, reaching from one end to the other; mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O come, thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Perhaps this is an unfamiliar way of describing Jesus. “Emmanuel?” Yes! “Lord?” Of course! But the Wisdom of God is rarely sung about in worship songs, referenced in prayer, or valued in Western culture. And yet, as I look around at the mess of the world, the lostness of our leaders, and the chaos of contemporary, culture, how desperately we need him to “teach us the way of prudence” and to “mightily and sweetly order all things.”[2]
The Second “O Antiphon” – Adonai
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai: Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
The coming of Christ is nothing less than the Lord of Lords, veiled in fire and cloud, liberator and lawgiver, whose “mighty arm” redeems us (Psalm 89:13). It’s so easy to say “Lord Jesus” without thinking about what his lordship really means. Surely, by very definition, “if he is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.”[3]
O God, the creator and preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal, that it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are in any ways afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate, that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.[4]
From the Squalor of a Borrow Stable (Immanuel)
[1] One way we cry out as the Church is through the “O Antiphons”. The “O Antiphons” are a beautiful tradition going back 1,300 years. They are scripturally based prayers focusing on the titles given to Christ in scripture. (https://anglicancompass.com/the-o-antiphons-the-liturgical-home/)
[2] Pete Grieg – lectio365.com
[3] Pete Grieg – lectio365.com
[4] Anglican Book of Common Prayer, 2019, p. 658.
