Prayer – Page 3 – What Does This Mean?

O Root of Jesse

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 surrounding Gentiles. 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, the clash of weapons, and, in modern times, the smoke of firearms cause chaos impossible to shout over. When soldiers lose track of where they are, they look for their unit flag and the 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 control and not to be late.

When the Messiah came, 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

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

O Wisdom

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 as 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 is 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), a part of God Himself who 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

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

O Antiphons: The Final Christmas Countdown

Encore Post: Among the most ancient prayers still used by Christians are the O Antiphons. Seven prayers settled into the evening service in monasteries, at least by the time of King Charlemagne (700s-800s). They are used for 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 then describes what God has done, making 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 of them. Why not use these prayers in your devotions as a kind of countdown to Christmas?

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Stir up Sunday

Encore Post: In the Anglican Church’s Book of Common Prayer, the collects for the last Sunday of the Church Year and three of the four Sundays of Advent begin with the words “Stir up …” In England, where the mix for Christmas Pudding needed to cure for weeks, hearing the words of the collect reminded households to stir up the Christmas pudding! So they nicknamed the Sunday “Stir-up Sunday.”

Lutheran churches do not use the first collect, perhaps because it is a kind of works-righteousness. But we do use the three Advent Collects. They are:

First Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance;

Second Sunday of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds;

Fourth Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy;

The three prayers summarize the themes of Advent. We call on God to come, knowing he has come in the person of his Son, comes to us each day by the Holy Spirit, and will come to us on the last day. But our prayers make his coming our own in a special way. The Spirit and the Bride say to us Come! They invite us also to say Come! to God’s children, lost and found. They call on us to say, Come, Lord Jesus. And so we do in Advent.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Last Things 7G: Stay Awake! Don’t Close Your Eyes!

[Thirteenth in a series of posts on last things] Encore Post: Even with the effects of the fall, the world can be very sweet, pleasant, and beautiful. When God finished creating the world, he stood back, looked it all over and said, “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Even after sin entered the world, bringing with it death, sorrow, grief, pain, disease, and disaster, the hand of the creator is present everywhere. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, seashore views and gentle, warm breezes, mountain valleys and peaks all speak to us of his majesty. Even cloud patterns before a storm cause us to admire his majesty. There is the pleasure of the presence of loved ones, holding your child or grandchild for the first time.

Life is very precious to us. It absorbs us in planning, working towards goals, saving, dreaming, and enjoying the many gifts God gives to us. We deal with it as best as we can with the tragedies of life, but there are long stretches of time when we think it will never end. We forget that this world—and, more to the point, our world — is passing away. We go to sleep spiritually. The work that God calls us to do, especially to witness to the Good News of salvation in Jesus, doesn’t seem quite so important. When sports tournaments are held on Sunday, we skip worship to watch our kids compete. We put caring for the poor, contributing to the work of the church with our resources and time second; we put off uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who wander from the faith.

Yet it is very much at times like these that our Lord will return for us. He will do so suddenly, without warning, the way that the flood came in the day of Noah, the way the sudden attacks on Pearl Harbor Day and 9/11 came. It may be at the end of time or at the end of our time. It is why Jesus calls on us to stay awake! We remember he came at the fullness of time, lived the perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose again for us, and ascended to prepare a place for us. And so we set the watch, day and night, knowing that he is coming for us. In the meantime, we work for the day, and the time will come when we can no longer work. All the while, we pray: Come, Lord Jesus, come!

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

You’re No Angel: Things Angels are Not

Encore Post: Beautiful young women in long, flowing white gowns, with big, downy wings, with a glowing, gold halo. A chubby, winged baby. The spirits of deceased Christians, also bearing wings and a halo, carrying a harp, are floating on clouds. Images like these fill our pictures, movies, TV shows, and songs. Yet none of these are real, nor do they share much in common with God’s Holy Angels. They are very different creatures and are not mild, gentle beings. They are God’s Heavenly Army, powerful and, when they appear, command respect.

First of all, angels are not people. They are spirits created by God to serve him (Hebrews 1). Christians do not become angels when they die. Our spirits are unnaturally separated from our bodies at death — bodies which decay. But we do not remain in that state. On the last day, God will raise our bodies from the dead and reunite our spirits with them.

Angels are powerful beings, sometimes tasked with battling Satan and his demons (these are fallen angelic creatures). They guard us, plead for us before the throne of God, and stand in his eternal presence. When they appear to people, they so often inspire fear that almost always their first words to humans are “fear not.” Some of God’s people are even tempted when they appear to fall down in worship. Scripture even poetically refers to them as gods.

Unlike the popular TV series and movies, angels are not like humans with flaws, prone to temptation and sin. Good angels are now eternally sinless, having been tested by Lucifer’s rebellion. They have a perfect knowledge of God. While they always take the form of a male human when they appear to humans, they never marry. They also are not young, having existed since before the fall of Adam and Eve, nor are they ever female. The scriptures do not mention halos (these are put into medieval art to draw eyes to images of holy people and beings, especially in stained glass) and only describe angels with wings when referring to seraphim and cherubim.

Most importantly, they ministered to Jesus during his earthly ministry. Angels are used by God to draw us to Jesus. On our last day and the last day, they will escort us to the throne of God, where we will live with God forever. So we thank God for the ministry of Angels and sing with them his praises, both here on earth and forever.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Angel in the Temple

[Forty-Sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Four hundred years had passed since the prophet Malachi spoke to God’s people. God had been silent all those years, but had not been idle. Now, an elderly priest named Zechariah was chosen to burn incense in the Holy Place of the temple, right outside the Holy of Holies. The angel Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God himself, appeared to Zechariah to announce the miraculous birth of a son. He was to be named John (God’s gift) and would fulfill Malachi’s last prophecy to send a herald to prepare the way of the Messiah. The last time this angel appeared, he brought dreams to Daniel.

You’d think Zechariah, who should have known better, would accept the news that he would have a son with joy. Yet that, like Abraham, he would have a child in his old age, when he was barren, was too much. Gabriel punished him by taking his voice until the day his son was to be circumcised.

When John was born, his relatives asked Zechariah what name to give his son. Zechariah wrote on a Roman wax tablet, “His name is John.” Then the silence of God was broken. Zechariah prophesied about the coming salvation and the role his son would play in it. We sing this prophecy in the liturgy of morning prayer. It is called the Benedictus. This old priest was, therefore, the second-to-last prophet of the Old Testament. His son, who we know as John the Baptist, would be the last and greatest.

John the Baptist had almost all the credentials to be the Messiah. His father was a priest, descended from Aaron. His mother was related to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and so descended from King David. Gabriel the Archangel announced his birth in the temple, while his father was offering prayers on behalf of the people to God. Both of his parents were very old, like Abraham and Sarah, and barren, like Hannah, the mother of Samuel. God named him in the same way he named Isaac and changed Jacob’s name to Israel. The angel announced he would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets. Yet from the very start, he and his parents understood John was not the Messiah, but the one who would reveal him to the world and prepare the way for him.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

The Birth of Judaism

Encore Post: When the Babylonians conquered Judah, destroyed the temple and the walls of Jerusalem, and carried off most of her people into exile, the people had a crisis of faith. How could they worship God without a temple where they could sacrifice? How could they relate to him at all? God sent prophets to help them work all this out. The result was the birth of a brand new religion — Judaism. A religion is a series of customs, duties, practices and rites that people do to serve their god or gods. It is a culture, really. God used Judaism as a place where true faith in him could be planted, nurtured, and grow, even when there was no temple, sacrificial system, and functioning priesthood to support it.

Judaism — especially the party of the Pharisees — was built on a devotion to the Torah. They read it, taught it, and even vowed to practice traditions that kept them from ever violating the commandments it teaches. To prevent accidental violation of a particular commandment, the Rabbis taught that you should follow a tradition stricter than the Law requires. So, for example, to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain, they did not pronounce the name of God at all, but said Adonai — my Lord — instead. This practice is called “building a hedge around the Torah.”

During the exile, wherever ten men were available to worship (called a minyan), Jews would gather to pray on the Sabbath. These congregations became known by the Greek word “Synagogue” (“coming together”). When they built houses of prayer, these buildings became known as synagogues. By New Testament times, the worship service had settled into a pattern of saying the Shema (“Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”), prayer, readings from the Torah and the prophets, a sermon, and a benediction.

When Cyrus the Great ended the exile, not all Jews returned home. Some stayed in Babylon and Persia; others moved to Greece, Rome, and other parts of the world. The synagogue accompanied them, along with different aspects of Judaism. In these events, God prepared the world for the ministry of Jesus, the apostles, and especially the Apostle Paul.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith

Pastor Emeritus

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Note: This series of blog posts is available as a Kindle book and will eventually be published as a print booklet on Amazon.com: Preparation for the Gospel. Please note that the author makes a small profit on the sale of this book.

Daniel and the Lions

[Forty-First in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore post: Daniel lived a long and remarkable life. As a young man, he was carried off into exile by the Babylonians. Because he showed remarkable leadership skills, King Nebuchadnezzar brought him into the court. He lived a long life in the service of Babylon, living until the Persians conquered the empire. He continued to serve the Persians.

Daniel was an honorable official and fell victim to politics in the top ranks of the Persian Empire. His enemies got a law passed that Daniel could not keep. (Daniel 6) The law required that no one pray to any god other than the king for thirty days. Even though he knew the law, Daniel continued his custom of praying three times a day, facing Jerusalem, giving thanks to God. His enemies turned him in to King Darius, who, even though he was Daniel’s friend and didn’t want to condemn him, ordered him thrown to the lions.

Being above reproach, Daniel did not respond as many politicians in his day and those in government even to this day. He did not retaliate, but allowed his innocence to speak for him. Having been thrown to the lions, God rewarded Daniel’s trust and faithfulness by sending an angel to protect his servant. When the king saw Daniel was still alive, he restored Daniel and had his enemies thrown to the lions.

Daniel has become a model for civil service for Christians. His example of faith was praised by the writer of the book of Hebrews, along with his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He shows us the way to love God and serve our nation as well.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Robert E. Smith
Pastor Emeritus
Fort Wayne, Indiana

King Hezekiah and the Assyrian Siege

[Thirty-Sixth in a series of posts on Bible Stories] Encore Post: Before King Josiah, there was another king who followed the commandments of the Lord. His name was Hezekiah. His story is covered in 2 Kings 18-20. There, the author of Kings tells us that Hezekiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, cutting down the Asherah poles. He recognized the idolatry that ran rampant among the people. Judah was actually bowing down before the bronze serpent that Moses made in the wilderness! Hezekiah broke it into pieces. He was zealous for proper worship of the Lord.

Hezekiah was the king of Judah during the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel. After Israel’s defeat, Judah was on high alert. The largest superpower was knocking on their door. And Assyria was a promised instrument of the Lord to exact judgment on His people.

The Rabshakeh, who was a spokesman for the king of Assyria, spoke to Hezekiah, telling him that no god had saved the other surrounding countries. So, would Hezekiah’s God save Judah? The king of Assyria, Sennacherib, speaks of himself as a god, able to give a land that is good, as if not better than what God had promised to the people of Israel way back in his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and again to the people as they were coming into the Promised Land.

Hezekiah, though afraid of the impending doom for Jerusalem, does what a faithful Christian ought to do in times of distress. He spoke with the Lord’s servant Isaiah and inquired of the Lord in prayer. God has been mocked in Sennacherib’s speech, and Hezekiah pleads that God hear it. He does and gives peace to Hezekiah, promising that Sennachrib will die by the sword in his own land.

Isaiah 37 records for us what happens to the Assyrian army. The Angel of the Lord struck the army and 185,000 died that night. The Lord preserved Hezekiah and Jerusalem for the time being.

We learn from Hezekiah to rely on God alone, both in times of distress and in times of plenty. Isaiah the prophet and this story of Jerusalem being under siege tells us to rely on God, who gives us our daily bread. For he also gives us the blessed forgiveness of sins in the saving work of Jesus on the cross, who took upon the siege of the devil at the cross and won for us the true promised land, the promise of the new heaven and new earth that is to come.

Originally posted at What does this Mean? Blog: https://whatdoesthismean.blog

The posts in the blog What does this Mean? are now available at What does this Mean? | Rev. Robert E. Smith | Substack

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
Christ Lutheran Church
Noblesville, Indiana