It's been a busy day

Preparing for Lent

Today, I prepared the ashes for Ash Wednesday. The ashes used in the ceremony come from the burning of palms from the previous Palm Sunday. They are sprinkled on the head as a sign of penance and mortification. For clerics, it is usually placed on the tonsure and for laity, it is put on the forehead in the shape of a cross.

The blessing and imposition of ashes concludes with this prayer in the old rite:

Grant us, O Lord, to begin with holy fasting this campaign of our Christian warfare: that as we do battle with spiritual wickedness, we may be defended by the aids of self-denial; through Christ our Lord. Amen

Ministry of Word and Sacrament

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God (2 Corinthians 4:1-2).

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

Mammon ... because you deserve it.

Epiphany collects

I love the collects used for the final Sundays after the Epiphany. Because the date of Easter and thus of Ash Wednesday and Lent vary from year to year, they often go unused and unheard. But they are among the most beautiful in the Prayer Book. Easter must fall between April 22 and April 25 for all of them to be used. This year, Easter is on April 24th.

The collect for the Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany in the 1979 Prayer Book is original to the first Prayer Book of 1549, and thus (I supposed) a composition of Dr Cranmer. Before the reworking of the calendar, it was the collect for Quinquagesima, the Sunday before Lent. I love it because it extols love and does so in such an antiquated diction.

Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

As far as I can find, the collect for the Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany is original to the 1979 Prayer Book. It is a beautiful treatment of anxiety and faith.

Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany
Most loving Father, who willest us to give thanks for all things, to dread nothing but the loss of thee, and to cast all our care on thee who carest for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, and grant that no clouds of this mortal life may hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which thou hast manifested to us in thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sancte Valentini, ora pro nobis

Papal photo caption contest

The blessing of throats

St Blase (or Blasius) was the bishop of Sebaste in Armenia during the fourth century. According to various accounts he was a physician before becoming a bishop. Veneration of this holy bishop spread throughout the entire church in the Middle Ages because he was reported to have miraculously cured a little boy who nearly died because of a fishbone in caught in his throat. From the eighth century he has been invoked on behalf of the sick, especially those afflicted with illnesses of the throat.

The blessing of the sick by ministers of the church is a very ancient custom, rooted in imitation of Christ himself and his apostles. An annual blessing of throats is a traditional sign of the struggle against illness in the life of the Christian. A blessing of throats with candles tied together in the shape of a cross on St Blase's feast day (Feb 3rd, but sometimes done after the Candlemas liturgy) is performed as a prayer for good health throughout the year.

With two candles held in the shape of a cross, the celebrant touches them to throat of each person, and says
Through the intercession of Saint Blase, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Purification of Our Lady

Today we commemorate Candlemas, and I love the reading and five traditional prayers for blessing candles (below).

Luke 2:27-35
27And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30for my eyes have seen your salvation 31that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." 33And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35(and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed."

Prayers for Blessing Candles
O LORD, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, who hast made all things out of nothing, and hast appointed that the labors of bees should be formed into wax by thine ordinance, who likewise on this day didst fulfill the prayers of thy righteous servant Simeon: we humbly beseech thee that thou wouldst vouchsafe by the power of thy holy Name, and at the intercession of blessed Mary ever-Virgin, whose festival we this day devoutly celebrate, and of all thy saints, to bless + and sanctify + these candles for the use of men, and for their protection both in body and soul in all perils of land or sea; hear, O Lord, we humbly pray thee, from thy holy heaven and from the throne of thy glory, the voice of this thy people that seeketh to bear them forth to thy glory and to sing thy praises; and we humbly beseech thee that thou wouldest have mercy upon all that call upon thee, whom thou hast redeemed with the precious Blood of thy dear Son; who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who on this day didst suffer thy only-begotten Son to be presented in the temple and to be received in the arms of Saint Simeon: we humbly beseech thy mercy, that like as we thy servants, taking these candles do seek to light them and bear them to the glory of thy Name, so thou wouldst vouchsafe to bless + and sanctify + the same, that we being made worthy of offering them unto thee, our Lord and our God, and being enkindled with the holy flame of thy most gracious charity, may be found meet to be presented before thee in the temple of thy glory; through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who art the true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the world: we beseech thee to pour out thy blessing + upon these candles and sanctify + them with the light of thy grace; mercifully grant that even as with their outward flame they scatter the darkness of night, so our hearts being inflamed with the inward brightness of thy Holy Spirit may be delivered from all blindness of iniquity, and that the eyes of our souls being so enlightened may discern such things as are pleasing unto thee and profitable unto us for our salvation, that finally after the darkness and dangers of this world we may attain in the end to light everlasting; through thee, O blessed Jesus, Redeemer of the world, who in the unity of the blessed Trinity livest and reignest God, world without end. Amen.

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who by the mouth of Moses thy servant didst command the children of Israel to bring pure olive oil for the lamps to burn always before thy face: we beseech thee to pour the blessing + of thy grace on these candles, that like as they shed forth on us their outward beams, so of thy bounteous goodness the light of thy Holy Spirit may never fail to enlighten us inwardly in our souls; through Jesus Christ our Lord who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who on this day appearing among men in the substance of our flesh wast presented by thy parents in the temple, whom Simeon in his old age, being enlightened by the light of thy Spirit, knew and blessed, taking thee in his arms: mercifully grant that we, being enlightened and instructed by the grace of the same Spirit, may know thee truly in our minds and love thee faithfully with all our hearts; who livest and reignest with the Father in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

What's wrong with this picture?

You will have to click on the photo and enlarge it to read the text.

Is it not time to end the schism?

"Is Christ divided?" (1 Corinthians 1:13).

Today concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which runs from the feast of the Confession of St Peter (or "Chair of Peter") to the Conversion of St Paul. The octave of prayer began in the early 1900s with Franciscans in the Episcopal Church, the Society of the Atonement, who were searching for reconciliation with the See of Peter. They were reconciled in 1909.

This week, I was reflecting on the sermon series I gave over the course of last summer based on the catechism of the Prayer Book. If I were to one day become a Western-rite Orthodox priest or an Anglican-use Roman Catholic priest and want to pull this series out of my old files and deliver it again, I don't believe I would need to change a word of it (at least as far as statements of doctrine go).

I only mention it to point out how close we have come to Christian unity and yet how far away it still seems to be. We have overcome so many obstacles, and yet come up with new ones at the same time. God help his foolish people!

Is Christ divided? No. The truth is rather more bleak--we are divided from Christ. The timing of the octave of prayer reminds that unity is to be found when we return to the confession of Jesus as Lord and pursue unity with the continual conversion that knocked St Paul off his horse. It is time for us in the West to labor diligently to end our 450 year schism and for our eastern brethren to end their 1,000 year schism. We cannot do it on our own, but God will not bring it about if we harden our hearts to his will. Let us continue to pray for God's grace to accomplish his will.

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: look to the rock from which you were hewn" (Isaiah 51:1).

A Prayer for the Unity of the Church
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The exorcisms of baptism

Unfortunately, one of the liturgical treasures we have lost is the baptismal exorcisms. Actually, it has made a somewhat diminished return in the rites of the adult catechumenate as found in the Book of Occasional Services.

In the first Book of Common Prayer of 1549, as in the liturgy used before the Prayer Books, there was an exorcism of the candidate for baptism. The three exorcisms (plus the "eph-phatha") were reduced to one by Cranmer.

Now, when you hear exorcisms, don’t think of all the exorcism movies you’ve seen. That’s not exactly what we’re talking about here (though it could come to that). It’s more what you might call a decontamination ritual. Elements such as salt and water are also exorcised before they are set apart for sanctification.

Remember, in the ancient world almost all converts are coming from paganism with its sometimes demonic rituals and incantations; it was but another way purging and leaving all those influences behind when coming to Christ and entering his church.

Of course, one could ask if the modern man have any less need for God to expel all the corruption, wickedness, and demonic influences that come from a life immersed in the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

In the first Prayer Book, after an opening prayer the minister is directed to makes a cross with the oil of catechumens on the forehead and chest of the baptismal candidate, saying, “Receive the sign of the holy cross, both in thy forehead and in thy breast, in token that thou shalt not be afraid to confess thy faith in Christ crucified, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and to continue as his faithful soldier and servant unto life’s end.”

Then the priest says, “I command thee, unclean spirit, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, that thou come out and depart from this person whom our Lord Jesus Christ hath vouchsafed to call to his holy Baptism, to be a member of his Body and of his holy congregation. Therefore, thou cursed spirit, remember thy sentence, remember thy judgment, remember the day is at hand, wherein thou shalt burn in fire everlasting prepared for thee and thy angels. And presume not hereafter to exercise any tyranny toward this person, whom Christ hath bought with his precious blood, and by his holy Baptism calleth to be of his flock.”

This all became a simple line in most of the Prayer Books that followed: “…grant that all sinful affections may die in him…” Perhaps the anointing and exorcism of the first Prayer Book could be reintroduced just before the examination of the candidates for baptism. Or we could just go back to the baptismal rite of the first Prayer Book or the rite used before that, both of which are quite sound and don't really need to be improved upon.

A baptismal covenant?

Photo: Joseph Williams, PCUSA General Assembly.

I'm not sure what I think of the so-called "baptismal covenant" in the Book of Common Prayer. The collect for the baptism of Jesus on the first Sunday after the Epiphany even picks up the theme:

Father in heaven, who at the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan didst proclaim him thy beloved Son and anoint him with the Holy Spirit: Grant that all who are baptized into his Name may keep the covenant they have made, and boldly confess him as Lord and Savior; who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

When the sacraments that change your state in life are given (Baptism, Confirmation, Marriage, and Ordination). They are prefaced by promises or vows. These help strengthen and focus us to make good use of the grace God gives on these occasions. Thus, we have wedding vows, ordination vows and the solemn promises often made for you at baptism, and reaffirmed by you at confirmation.

In the most recent edition of the American Prayer Book, we find what is called the "Baptismal Covenant." Sometimes a big deal is made from both perspectives of the fact that it is unique in the liturgies of Anglicanism. Sometimes liberals use it to justify practices that may be unique to our cultural and ecclesial context. Most often this comes around to justifying changes to teaching and practice about marriage and holy orders. It is assumed by revisionists that support for fornication and cross-dressing at the altar is somehow more respectful of human dignity. On the right, the baptismal covenant has been blamed as the Trojan horse which let all kinds of enemies into the citadel. For example, see the late Peter Toon's essay "Does each person in Baptism make a covenant with God? Yes, says The Episcopal Church. No, says the Bible."

I'll say right out, I'm no Peter Toon; I think he overstates his case, but it does give me some unrest. Actually, the uniqueness of the baptismal covenant in the 1979 American Prayer Book is more in the name than its content.

The covenant is prefaced by the traditional threefold renunciation of the world, the flesh, and the devil followed by the promises to follow Christ. At the center of that baptismal covenant is the baptismal symbol—-the Apostle’s Creed. What is new is that the 1979 Prayer Book expands on that commitment of faith. We go on to commit to regular attendance at Christian worship, resistance of evil, and repentance for sin, a Christian life that proclaims the Gospel, and the love of neighbor by seeking and serving Christ in the neighbor, striving for peace and justice and respecting human dignity. None of those are new ideas, just new to the rite of baptism.

What we need to be clear about, though, is that the baptismal covenant is a NOT new, unique, individual covenant between God and the believer. It's not like God made a covenant with Adam, then a covenant with Noah, then a covenant with David, and then he made a covenant with little old me.

Rather, when we are baptized into Christ, we become heirs of THE New Covenant of grace between the Father and the Son. It's unfortunate that the collect for today uses the language it does about "the covenant [we] have made." So when we talk about the baptismal covenant, we need to emphasize that it is the New Covenant we are talking about. We enter that relationship through faith and obedience, and the relationship is actualized through the sacrament of rebirth.

All decked out for Christmas

Trinity Episcopal Church in Dublin, TX on Christmas Eve 2010.

St Matthew's Episcopal Church in Comanche TX on Christmas Eve 2010.

O come, Emmanuel

Latin translation of O Emmanuel
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver, the hope of the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Advent Carol
O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lowly exile here until the Son of God appear. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon for December 23rd is based upon theme of the incarnation of the Son of God. St John wrote in his gospel, "The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" (John 1:14). Likewise, Isaiah prophesied, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14), which name means "God with us" (see also Matthew 1:22).

Messianic biblical prophecies of future events work on two levels—they have an immediate application to events in the near future; they also have a long term application in the unfolding of our salvation. We see an example of that here in Isaiah.

In the immediate context, the Prophet Isaiah is confronting the King Ahaz (who is inspecting the city’s fortifications after losing several battles) to renew his faith with the sign of a child who will be an oracle that God is in fact not with our enemies; rather, God is with us. But this verse also spoke of a deeper fulfillment in God’s plan of salvation.

When St. Matthew tells the story in his Gospel of the angel Gabriel’s visit to the Virgin Mary to announce the birth of Jesus, Matthew tells us, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).”

With the virgin motherhood of blessed Mary, God has given us a sign . . . an oracle to say that God is no longer in distant heavens; God is with us. God is now one of us. The Word has become flesh and dwells among us. This is what we call the incarnation. At Christmastime, God unwraps the gift that keeps on giving. The gift of the Christ child is the fount of grace which wells up at the cross.

"Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance (homo-ousios) with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer (Theotokos); one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the Fathers has handed down to us." (Definition of the Union of the Divine and Human Natures in the Person of Christ, Council of Chalcedon, 451 A.D., Act V, quoted in the Book of Common Prayer, p 864.)

Although these antiphons and dates have been common throughout the western Church, our Anglican patrimony includes an alternative medieval English usage that arose of moving all of the antiphons forward by one day (commencing on 16 December) and adding an additional eighth antiphon on 23 December, as follows:

Latin translation of O Virgo virginum
O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be? For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after. Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me? The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.

Unfortunately, no paraphrase of this antiphon was included in the Advent carol. But as with the previous antiphon, the motherhood of this virgin is a sign that God is both the Father above, and that God is the Son who has come to dwell among us.

Mary’s virginity is hailed as an outward sign of her purity of soul. The Greek Liturgies of St Basil the Great and St John Chrysostom call her Panagia (the “All-Holy One”) and Panagiota (the “All-Sinless One”). Thus, she is the Virgin of virgins, the exemplar of chastity and virtue.

Archbishop of Canterbury William Wake, outlined the Church of England’s view on Mary in a sermon in 1688, saying, “We believe her to have been a most pure, and holy, and virtuous creature: . . . that her virgin mind was clean and spotless, as her body chaste and immaculate; and that she was upon the account of both, the most fit of any of her race or sex for the Holy Ghost to over-shadow, and for the Son of the most highest to inhabit.”

George Hickes, the Dean of Worcester also commented on the theme of the purity of Mary in one of his sermons: “She that was the Mother of God could not be [anything] but a very good woman; she that conceived, and bare, and brought forth the holy Child Jesus, the Virgin Mother of Immanuel, . . . surely must have been pure, as he was pure, and holy, as he was holy.”

Since March, she has been the tabernacle of God, carrying the seed of promise, the holy Child whom God foretold would crush the serpent’s head. St Irenaeus of Lyons in the 2nd Century put it this way, “And so the knot tied by Eve’s disobedience was unloosed through the obedience of Mary; for what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the Virgin Mary free through faith.” May God engender the same faith in our hearts.

O come, Desire of nations

Latin translation of O Rex Gentium
O King of the nations, and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the human race, which you fashioned from clay.

Advent Carol
O come, Desire of nations, bind in one the hearts of all mankind; bid thou our sad divisions cease, and be thyself our King of peace. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon for December 22 is based upon the Lordship of Christ the King. The acclamation at his entry into Jerusalem is just as applicable to his birth: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord" (Luke 19:38). It was known that he would be born in Bethlehem, and the wise men sought him out, because he was the anointed heir to the throne of King David. He would be the Prince of peace.

Of him, Isaiah prophesied, "He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4). St Paul noted, "He must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25).

Although he was arrested on the charge of being a blasphemer, Jesus was ultimately sentence under Roman law for treason--for claiming to be the "King of the Jews," as was ordered to be written on the titulus of his cross in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek.

When Pilate questioned him about this charge, Jesus replied, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Notice, he did not deny being a king. He simply said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Pilate said to him, “So you are a king then?” Jesus answered, “You have said it; I am a king. This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice” (John 18:36-37).

When he suspected Jesus of being born in Bethlehem, Jesus would no longer speak when interrogated about this, and Pilate sought to release him, but instead decided to appease the mob. We need the Lord Jesus. We need the Light of God to shine in our hearts. We need the reign of Christ over all nations, all peoples, and every heart, to be come be realized in our lawless world. Maranantha! Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come!

Our prayer in the antiphon today is that all would listen to his truthful voice and submit to his most gracious rule.

O come, thou Dayspring from on high

Latin translation of O Oriens Splendor
O Morning Star, splendor of light eternal and sun of righteousness: Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Advent Carol
O come, thou Dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadow put to flight. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon for December 21st is based upon the image of Jesus as the "Light of the world," so prominent in John's gospel. John’s gospel opens by hailing Jesus as the “Light of the world,” coming to shine in our hearts and dispel spiritual darkness. His first and second Advents are both described as dawnings. The morning star in Revelation 22 is a symbol of God drawing closer to his people. (see Revelation 22:16). Isaiah prophesied, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined" (Isaiah 9:2).

Because we worship Jesus, the Dayspring, churches have been traditionally built with the altar at the eastern end, so that the faithful would worship the Lord toward the rising sun. John of Damascus explained, "It is not without reason or by chance that we worship towards the East. But seeing that we are composed of a visible and an invisible nature, that is to say, of a nature partly of spirit and partly of sense, we render also a twofold worship to the Creator; just as we sing both with our spirit and our bodily lips, and are baptized with both water and Spirit, and are united with the Lord in a twofold manner, being sharers in the mysteries and in the grace of the Spirit. Since, therefore, God is spiritual light, and Christ is called in the Scriptures Sun of Righteousness and Dayspring, the East is the direction that must be assigned to his worship. . . . And when he was received again into heaven he was borne towards the East, and thus his apostles worship him, and thus he will come again in the way in which they beheld him going towards heaven; as the Lord himself said, 'As the lightning cometh out of the East and shineth even unto the West, so also shall the coming of the Son of Man be'."

We are all desperately in need of a Savior, a Redeemer who is capable of ransoming us from the darkness of our sins. Sin clouds our intellect and darkens our will. We need light from above. Let us not shun the light, but look for it and run towards it.

Jesus said, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). Jesus brings clarity and light back to our souls when we are baptized or when we return to him through the sacrament of penance.

O come, thou Key of David

Latin translation of O Clavis David
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel; you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

Advent Carol
O come, thou Key of David, come, and open wide our heavenly home; make safe the way that leads on high, and close the path to misery. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon for December 20th is based on the image of Jesus as Savior, who reconciles God and man and is himself the very key that reopens the gates of paradise which were shut after the Fall (see Genesis 3:23-24).

Isaiah prophesied that work of the Savior was to release those who were held captive by sin (see Isaiah 42:7). Isaiah also foretold of the Messiah that God would “place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and no one shall shut; he shall shut, and no one shall open” (Isaiah 22:22). And that, “His authority shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore” (Isaiah 9:7).

In Isaiah’s day, David’s descendant King Hezekiah cleansed and restored the Temple. As a type of the Christ to come, Hezekiah rose from a dire illness on the third day. He entrusted to his steward Eliakim, the “key of David”—his authority—as an office to be handed on.

So likewise Jesus entrusted to St. Peter and all the apostles the “keys of the kingdom” (see Matthew 16:17-19). This was especially the authority to declare true doctrine and denounce heresy as well as the authority to bind and loose people from the shackles of sin. The church still exercises the power of those keys to this day.

When the Lord died on His Cross and rose again, he ransomed “captive Israel.” Then he descended to the dead to proclaim redemption and set them free. He still does the same for us, visiting us through his ministers. The bishop or priest of the church, exercising the keys, speaks with Christ’s voice. He teaches and absolves sinners with the authority entrusted to him by Christ.

O come, thou Root of Jesse's tree

Latin translation of O Radix Jesse
O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign among the peoples; before you kings will shut their mouths, to you the nations will make their prayer: Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Advent Carol
O come, O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree, free them from Satan's tyranny, that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

The antiphon for December 19th is based on the lineage of Jesus as the Messiah from the house of David. Isaiah prophesied: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” And, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all peoples.” (Isaiah 11:1, 11).

David’s father is Jesse, so the shoot (the new budding branch) is David’s progeny. This ancestry of Jesus, the "Son of David" is recorded at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel and in Luke 3.

A Jesse Tree in the home, then an Advent custom of using a collection of symbols that portray the fact that Jesus has come, as predicted, from the root of Jesse. A small tree or branch is decorated with these ornaments representing Adam, Noah, Abraham, and so on. It also reminds us God had promised Adam and Eve that their descendant would crush the head of the serpent who led to their fall.

Jesus was also born in Bethlehem, David’s home town, as the Prophet Micah foretold, “Out of you (Bethlehem) will come one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2). The name David means “beloved” and St. John tells us that God so loved the world that he gave us his Son Jesus, whom the Father calls “the beloved” at his baptism.

What urgency there is this antiphon! Something that lies below the earth (a root) stands high like a banner! What is a little root during Advent becomes by Lent the Tree of salvation. The Prophet Isaiah tells us that the kingdom of David would be destroyed, but a root would remain. It is the root of Jesse’s tree leading to Christ. And the Prophet Micah reassures us it would spring up again in Bethlehem, the city of David.

After reminding us of Jesus’ Davidic heritage, the next day’s antiphon refers to Christ as David’s key. See this page from Fisheaters for information about the custom of making a Jesse tree during Advent.

O come, thou Lord of might

Latin translation of O Adonai
O Lord 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.

Advent Carol
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.

The antiphon for December 18th is based on the manifestation of God on Mount Sinai in the Book of the Exodus. God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses, and the Torah (or "Law of Moses") became both the foundation of Jewish faith and life as well as the dawn of ethical monotheism in world history.

Adonai or “Lord” was the Hebrew word that the Jews used for the divine Name of Yahweh. We use it for Christ, the Wisdom from on high who is Lord of all creation. Christ is also Lord of the Covenant with the people he chose. The Lord made covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses.

He guided his people Israel and gave them the Law. He protected and feed them in the wilderness. The Lord delivered them from unending slavery and bondage to Pharaoh. He went before them in the wilderness with an outstretched arm. All this pre-figured the great work of redemption that Christ did on the Cross. The Messiah was the one who would bring God's Law to fulfillment. He redeemed us his people from Satan and the eternal damnation of hell.

He once appeared clothed in the burning bush before Moses at Sinai. He has also appeared clothed in flesh at Bethlehem. He will appear again one day in glory to judge the living and the dead. And he is with us even now, veiled in the holy Mystery of the Eucharist.

What amazing contrasts we find in our Lord! He came in thunder and lightning to give the Law on Mount Sinai. At Christmas he comes in swaddling clothes. He will come again in glory. He comes humbly in the appearance of Bread and Wine.

We have great cause for rejoicing this holiday season. We can gather to celebrate Jesus’ birth, confident in a certain hope that he is true Wisdom, come down from on high, who guides us to salvation and reigns even now as Lord. And we rejoice that what we behold even now in types and shadows will be brought to perfect fulfillment when he comes again in glory.

Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). The Messiah was seen as one who would represent the rule of God's law and bring it to fulfillment (see Isaiah 11:4-5). As Lord, "he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet" (1 Corinthians 15:25). As Savior, Jesus fulfilled the obligations of the Law on behalf of sinners (see Romans 8:1-4).