Encore Post: O Dayspring, splendor of light everlasting, Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae,veni, et illumina sedentis in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
In the Northern Hemisphere, December is the darkest month of the year — and December 21st the darkest day of the year. The winter solstice occurs in early evening. On that date, dawn occurs at the latest time in the morning and sunset comes at the earliest time. It reminds us of the dark times in which we live — where sin is not restrained, evil seems to rule unhindered and death casts its shadow over us.
Into this darkness, the Daystar shines. The Sun of Righteousness rises to heal us. (Malachi 4:2) We see his great light and it gives us great joy. He breaks the power of sin and death over us. The child born in Bethlehem is now our Lord. (Isaiah 9:2-7) He will guide us in the way of peace.
Our antiphon today calls for Christ, our Dawn, to shine on us in our dark times, to dispel its gloom, bring joy to us and remind us of the last day, soon to come, when the King shall come. On that day, all shadows will disappear and he will dry every tear from our eyes.
O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh, Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Lutheran Service Book, 357, Stanza Six
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: 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. Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel, qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit, veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
Even in monarchies, Kings cannot rule by themselves. They need quite a few officials to carry out their will and to control access to the throne, so that royal time is not wasted on trivial things or matters not the focus of the King’s agenda. Isaiah announces God’s appointment of such an officer for King Hezekiah. He was the ancient Chief of Staff. The symbol of his authority was the Key of David, so that he would open doors no one could close and close doors no one could open. (Isaiah 22:22)
In the letters to the seven churches of Asia in the Book of Revelation, Jesus announces he has the Key of David and opens the door to the Kingdom of Heaven, which no one can shut. (Revelation 3:7) Many try to place burdens on God’s people, restrict those who can come to the Father, and block the way to Heaven.
But Jesus is the Key of David, who opened the kingdom of Heaven by his sacrificial death and by breaking the seal of the grave when he rose from the dead. For those who believe in him, heaven is always open and is never shut. He removes the sin that blocks our way and bars the door to hell forever.
Now, through pastors whom he sends to his people, the keys to open heaven unlock doors for us, removes the chains of our sin and shame and provides bread and drink for the journey — His holy body and his precious blood. These sustain us until we arrive home at last and enter its open door forever.
O come, Thou Key of David, come, And open wide our heav’nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!
Lutheran Service Book, 357, Stanza Five
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom they will do homage, Come quickly to deliver us.
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur,veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardere.
The title in today’s antiphon comes from Isaiah 11. The people of Israel had been unfaithful to God, worshiping the idols of the gentiles around them. He had already destroyed the northern kingdom with the Assyrian Empire. Isaiah predicted that eventually the same would happen to the southern kingdom. The house of David would eventually be destroyed as well. Isaiah prophesied that the root of this tree would sprout again. The messiah would come to be that branch from the root of Jesse, King David’s father. His will be an everlasting kingdom.
Isaiah then switches images. The Root of Jesse was to be a flag to which the gentiles would rally. Before electronic communication, armies used trumpets and flags to keep their forces together and is send orders to every unit. An old proverb says that even the most thorough battle plan does not survive the beginning of conflict. Loud sounds, explosions, clash of weapons, and, in modern times, the smoke of firearms causes chaos impossible to shout over. At times when soldiers loose track of where they are, the look for their unit flag and national flag. They make their way to the flag and the forces reassemble.
The Messiah will be, Isaiah tells us, the flag to which the people of Israel and the gentiles will gather. He will bring people together in peace. The antiphon focuses on the absolute power the Messiah will have over all kings. It calls on him to free us from their power and not be late.
When the Messiah did come, the freedom he granted was over Satan, sin and our flesh. He did this with the sacrifice of his own life in our place. When he rose from the grave, he broke its seal and opened the kingdom to all believers. When he comes again, he will complete that liberation, when we, free from sin, will live for him and with him forever.
O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, Free them from Satan’s tyranny That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save, And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to you, O Israel!
Lutheran Service Book, 357, Stanza Four
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai, come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.
O Adonai, et dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti,veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
Moses was minding his own father-in-law’s business — his sheep — when he saw a bush on fire that did not burn up. When he went up to see what was happening, the Angel of the Lord (the pre-incarnate Son of God himself) spoke with him from the bush. He commissioned Moses to free the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt. Doing everything he could to avoid the subject, Moses asked for the Name of God. “I am who I am,” the Messiah replied. (Exodus 3) That name we pronounce Yahweh. It is spelled with four consonants in Hebrew — יהוה (YHWH) After the Babylonian exile, the Jewish people decided not to pronounce that name so it could not be taken in vain. Instead, they said, “Adonai” which means “my Lord.” Wherever the Angel of the Lord appears in the Old Testament, this name is given to him. He revealed God’s Law to Moses on this same spot after the Exodus.
Because the Messiah is God, there is nothing he cannot do. He loved his people Israel, so he sent Moses to free them. He displayed his power to free them with plagues and miracles, including the parting of the Red Sea. Later, the Scriptures would describe it as his outstretched arm.
The prayer calls on the Messiah to come and redeem us — which he did. This time the miracle was not raw power, but the power of God himself paying the price of our salvation — not with silver or gold, but with his own blood. He himself became the sacrifice of our sin, paying its price in full.
One day he will come again in glory, to redeem the world once and for all, defeating death, sin and the devil. On that day, his outstretched arm will restore all things and bring all to his throne. There all will confess Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God the Father.
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. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
— Lutheran Service Book 357, Stanza Three
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things, Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia,veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
In the formal language of the church, important days are celebrated for eight days. The eighth day is called the Octave (Latin for eight) of the festival. It is a symbol of eternal life. Since there are only seven days of the week, the eighth day is thought of being beyond time in the presence of God himself, where angels, archangels and all the company of Heaven worship the Lamb-Who-Was-Slain. In a sense, all worship services are conducted on the eighth day. The Octave of Christmas is New Year’s Day, when the church remembers the Circumcision of Jesus and begins the new year in the Name of Jesus. December 17th in kind of an octave in reverse. On this day, the O Antiphons begin.
The first prayer meditates on the title “Wisdom.” In the popular philosophy of Greece and Rome, Wisdom is taught by the Word (the Logos — λόγος) which is a part of God Himself that comes to the world to instruct the worthy in Wisdom. (σοφία — Sophia) Isaiah prophesied that the Spirit of Wisdom would be in the Messiah. (Isaiah 11:1-9) In the Scriptures, knowledge is about knowing facts and the way things work. Wisdom is about knowing the best way to apply knowledge. Wisdom is not about what you know, but who you know. It begins with the fear of God and is built upon trusting God to keep his promises. (faith) Wisdom hears the Word of God, judges possible actions by it and acts deliberately according to it. In this prayer, we ask the Lord to teach us to live in this way.
The highest form of wisdom is the cross. Here God himself is sacrificed to pay the price of our evil. It seems foolish to the world — the good dying for the sake of the evil and conquering it once and for all. Yet for us it is the most profound Wisdom of all. (1 Corinthians 1:18-25) The way of prudence, then, teaches us to confess our sins, receive pardon for them and lay down our lives for others.
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high, Who ord’rest all things mightily; To us the path of knowledge show, And teach us in her ways to go. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel!
Lutheran Service Book, 357, Stanza Two
Rev. Robert E. Smith Pastor Emeritus Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: Among the most ancient prayers still used by Christians are the O Antiphons. They are seven prayers that settled into the evening service in monasteries, at least by the time of King Charlemagne, (700s-800s). They are used the seven days before Christmas. An antiphon is a Psalm verse or prayer used as a refrain when Psalms or liturgical songs are sung. These prayers begin with the Latin word “O.” They are in collect form and focus on titles given by the Prophet Isaiah to the Messiah.
In most Lutheran parishes, the O Antiphons go by unnoticed. There is typically only one devotional evening service conducted that week. Yet they will sound very familiar to you. Five of them were paraphrased by an unknown hymn writer into the carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” In fact, the Lutheran Service Book provides the actual O Antiphons along with the dates they were traditionally prayed.
Each antiphon begins with a title of the Messiah. It follows with a description of what God has done that makes this title appropriate for the Messiah. Finally, the prayer asks the Messiah to do something that fits the title. If you use it as a prayer, end with “who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
During the next week, I’ll write a post about each one of them. Why not use these prayers in your devotions as a kind of countdown to Christmas?
Rev. Robert E. Smith Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne, Indiana
Encore Post: It’s true that some churches use blue for Advent and some use violet. Which one is right, which is better?
First, neither is right and the other wrong. In Christian freedom, we have options of saying the creed before or after the sermon, collecting the offering before or after the prayer of the church, and using blue or violet in advent.
The use of blue for Advent is often attributed to European Marianist cultish worship or pseudo-worship of St. Mary, the Mother of our Lord. To some degree, that may contain truth. But I suspect the source is a little deeper than that. Some will also point to a Byzantine tradition of blue signifying the empress. But, there may be a deeper meaning still.
[Light blue paraments are used Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholic, and Russian Orthodox Churches. Their use dates back into antiquity. This significantly precedes the Modern Oxford movement in England, which is sometimes maligned as a Marianist source, or an exclusively medieval Marianist origin to the use of blue in Advent.] (2023 Update)
There’s a specific reference in Numbers to the color of the skins on the Ark of the Covenant as the congregation of Israel carried it from place to place. “When the camp is to set out, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the veil of the screen and cover the ark of the testimony with it. Then they shall put on it a covering of goatskin and spread on top of that a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.” (Numbers 4:5-6)
For our benefit, Christian artists will often depict the Ark of the Covenant moving uncovered. They do this so that we can see the gold, the cherubim, and the mercy seat, and know what it is. But, in reality, the ark was always covered from our eyes while in transit. The coverings were of an unclear material (ram, goat, porpoise, or maybe dugong) that was certainly blue in color. Moreover, no one was to touch the ark. The unmitigated holiness of God is dangerous to us in our sinful state and uncleanness.
When King David sought to move the ark back to Jerusalem, he and his men saw the holiness of God in action. Uzzah died when he touched the ark to steady it after the oxen stumbled. “So David was not willing to take the ark of the Lord into the city of David. But David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household. And it was told King David, ‘The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.’” (2 Samuel 6:10-12)
In his commentary on Luke, Dr. Arthur Just of Concordia Theological Seminary points out the parallel between 2 Samuel and Luke 1. Both show a going up into the hill country. The Israelites greet the ark with shouts of joys as does Elizabeth to Mary. The blessing of the house of Obed-Edom is reflected in Elizabeth’s being filled with the Holy Spirit, implying blessings for her and her home. Both the Ark and Mary remain for three months (Arthur A. Jr Just, Luke, Concordia Commentary (St. Louis: Concordia Pub. House, 1996, 1:72)).
St. Luke reports, “In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’” (Luke 1:39-45)
In the Western Christian tradition, we call St. Mary “the mother of our Lord.” The Eastern Christian church uses the term: “Theotokos.” Theotokos is a Greek term meaning: “God-bearer.” The Greek term is also a spectacular image for us to have in our minds. It pictures something like the Ark of the Covenant.
The ark was nothing but an acacia wood box, covered in gold and finely decorated. The presence of God upon the ark made it unique. The virgin Mary also had no special attributes compared with other Israelite women. Yet, the presence of the Lord within her caused great joy for Elizabeth and her unborn son, John.
The presence of God in the ark looked to the ecclesia of Israel like a clump of blue animal skins skewered on a pair of poles, and carried about. Artists have depicted Mary in a blue mantle. The blue doesn’t show her specialty. The blue shows us what’s in there: Christ the Lord, the Holy One of Israel. Advent blue shows us what’s coming.
[While violet and blue are certainly both acceptable, I think blue better serves our Christology in Advent. The two penitential seasons, Advent and Lent, are not the same. We treat them differently in our liturgy and hymnody. Lent is more austere. In it we put away our alleluias. This is not the case for Advent. A variation in the colors can reinforce the distinction between the penitence of Advent and the penitence of Lent.] (2022 update)
Blue serves to show us a new thing. While we prepare our hearts in the penitential season of Advent, God is delivering His Son. The Son of Man is born to die for our sins. Unlike the unmitigated holiness of God in the ark, God in human flesh is fully like us in flesh. He has the power to heal, even by the hem of His garment. But His touch does not strike down sinners. This blue points us not to Mary, the God-bearer, but to the God she bore.
Let the blue of Advent fill us with hope.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool La Grange, TX
Encore Post: Christmas in America doesn’t seem possible without Santa Claus. In an image first drawn by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly in 1863 and shaped to his current form by Haddon Sundblum for a Coca-Cola advertising campaign, the jolly Saint Nick is said to live at the North Pole, making toys for children to give on Christmas Eve. Our Santa’s legend has grown from the Dutch form of the Father Christmas story, where candies were distributed on December 6. Through poems, songs, and TV specials, the story continues to change each year. Many Americans tell their children that Christmas gifts come from him.
Yet the image did begin with the story of a real St. Nicholas, a Greek Bishop who cared for God’s people during the most intense persecution of the Church prior to the 20th Century. Nicholas was born to wealthy Christian parents who died during his early manhood. Nicholas followed his uncle into the priesthood and was chosen Bishop of Myra, a town in what is now Turkey. His legend says he gave away his parents’ wealth to the poor, but since he was a humble man, did so secretly. One story tells of a father who lost his wealth during a tragedy. Unable to afford a dowry for his three daughters, he feared he would have to sell them as slaves or hire them as prostitutes. Upon hearing the story, Bishop Nicholas resolved to help. At night for two successive nights, he slipped a bag of gold through their girl’s window. In the morning, the father was greatly thankful to his mystery patron. So he watched on the third night for the donor to appear. Unmasking Nicholas, he was begged by the saint, apparently unsuccessfully, to keep his generosity a secret. The girls, now with generous dowries each, were married successfully and saved a depressing fate. From this story developed the Dutch legend of Sinterklaas, who is said to give children gifts on December 6. This story came across the Atlantic during the colonization of New Amsterdam (New York).
During the Great Persecution of Emperor Diocletian of Rome, Nicholas was thrown into prison and tortured in an attempt to get him to renounce his faith. Remaining faithful to Christ, he was released by Emperor Constantine the Great. One legend places Bishop Nicholas at the Council of Nicea, where he is said to have slapped Arius the heretic and to have temporarily lost his office for the incident. Restored to office, he stood up for his people, battled idolatry and heresy and intervened with authorities from time to time to protect his flock and the poor in general.
Encore Post: Great forest fires, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods are all over our news. Acts of unspeakable evil and cruelty occur on almost a weekly basis. A nation routinely kills babies in the womb, celebrates immorality and lectures the church when it doesn’t join them. All the signs of the end of days fill our T.V.s, cell phones and computer screens. It makes you just want to scream, “Tear open the heavens and get down here, Lord, and do something about it! What are you waiting for? (See Isaiah 64)
To most of the world’s religions, the high god who made the world is a distant god, who made the world and tired of it, going away to leave it to lesser gods and our own devices. We are left alone to deal with the mess that is our world and our part in making it worse. Even more modern thinkers, like the Deists, thought of God as a great watchmaker, who made the world capable of running itself, wound it up and walked away. Pop songs muse: “God is watching us… from a distance” and “The Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost, they caught the last train for the coast, the day the music died.” We just have to cope, they advise.
Advent breaks into that mood and reminds us that is not true at all. The God who made the world and called it “very good” intends to do something about it. He promised to come himself, in the person of his Son, born of a woman, to become one of us. It reminds us that he kept that promise and to prepare to celebrate that coming, receive him as he comes to us each day and how he will finally come to set things right.
The season of Advent developed over the centuries to do just that. Like Lent prepared the church to celebrate Easter, Advent would come to celebrate Christmas. For some, it was also a season of repentance, as a deliberate counter to the wild and immoral way pagans celebrate their December holidays. So in many places, Advent’s color is purple or black, the Gloria is not sung and people fast. For others, it is a season of hope, with the color being blue and carols sung to anticipate Christmas.
Either way, the church cries out: “Stir up your power, O Lord, and come!” Come as you did, born to die that we might live. Come with your grace and live among us. Come and bring us all home to be with you. Come, Lord Jesus, Come!
Encore Post: Time is a funny thing. We use clocks that measure the vibrations of atoms, coordinated with telescopes to record its passage with great precision and consistency from place to place, transmit them to us via computers, satellites, radio, television and other digital signals and synchronize our clocks with them. We barely notice that time is a human thing — except on leap year or when we change our clocks twice a year or move from time zone to time zone.
Time is the way we record the change we notice more and more with each year of life. Time passes quickly. When you are a child, an hour drags on forever. As an adult, it passes before your realize it. What is important, our culture has noticed, is not time itself, but what you do with it. It has become our new currency. We sooner will write a check than hang out.
The Greek of the New Testament has two different words for time. καιρός (Chairos) translates roughly “the right time.” χρόνος (Chronos) is about the passage of time, minute after minute, hour after hour, year after year. Seasons like Advent, days like Christmas and New Years Day are χρόνος, times that we plan for, come and go, forming a part of the rhythm of life. That Christmas when you opened your first present is καιρός
The fullness of time when God sent his son, born of a virgin, is God’s καιρός (Galatians 4:4-5). His acts and plans unfolded slowly, one building on another, leading to just that right time. The next big καιρός is the Second Advent, when time itself will come to an end in God’s eternal life with his people.
The persons, events and institutions leading to that first right time, the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection and ascension of Immanuel — God-with-us — were called by the Early Church the praeparatio Evangelii (The Preparation of the Gospel).
