Christian Reflection and Prayer

The "O" Antiphons. Since
the seventh century, this
set of seven prayer texts
has been sung or recited
over the final days of Advent
during the daily service of
vespers, or evening prayer.
They are voiced in response
to the Magnificat (Lk 1: 46 - 55).
Each antiphonal prayer addresses
God with "O" and a biblical name
and concludes with a call for him
to come. The phrases of the prayers
derive from Scripture. You may be
familiar with them from the verses
of the well-known Advent hymn,
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."
They may be used devotionally,
one a day, from December 17 to 23.
Here are the traditional texts of the
"Great O's."

O Wisdom, O holy word of God,
you govern all creation with your
strong yet tender care: Come and
show your people the way to salvation.

O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel,
who showed yourself to Moses in the
burning bush, who gave him the holy
law on Sinai mountain: Come, stretch
out your mighty hand to set us free.

O Flower of Jesse's stem, you have
been raised up as a sign for all peoples;
rulers stand silent in your presence; the
nations bow down in worship before you.
Come, let nothing keep you from coming
to our aid.

O Key of David, O royal power of Israel,
controlling at your will the gate of heaven:
Come, break down the prison walls of
death for those who dwell in darkness and
the shadow of death, and lead your captive
people into freedom.

O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light,
sun of justice: Come, shine on those who
dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

O Ruler of all the nations, the only joy of
every human heart, O keystone of the
mighty arch of humankind: Come and save
the creature you fashioned from the dust.

O Emmanuel, ruler and lawgiver, desire
of the nations, savior of all people: Come
and set us free, Lord our God.

On December 21, the church remembers
St. Thomas, the apostle famously known
as Doubting Thomas for his refusal to
believe in Jesus' resurrection until he had
fingered the nail marks and felt the spear
wound. After Jesus graciously
accommodated his doubt, Thomas
declared, "My Lord and my God!"(Jn 20:28).
According to tradition, he is credited with
taking the light of the gospel to India. As
his feast day falls in the week of the "O"
Antiphons, these meditative prayers can
be for us affirmations of faith and longing
in the face of doubts that we, like Thomas,
may experience.

Taken from Living the Christian Year:
Time to Inhabit the Story of God by
Bobby Gross. Copyright(c) 2009 by
Bobby Gross.
Bobby Gross is director of graduate
and faculty ministries for InterVarsity
Christian Fellowship. Bobby also
serves on the national board of
Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA)
and lives in Atlanta, GA.

The Advent wreath. This simple
arrangement consists of four
candles set equidistant in a circle
of evergreens, with a larger fifth
candle placed in the middle. On
the first Sunday of Advent, one
candle is lit, on the second Sunday,
two candles, and so on. Finally,
on Christmas Eve, we light the
Christ candle in the middle.
Usually, three of the outer candles
are purple, the liturgical color of
Advent that signifies both penitence
and royalty, but the candle for the
third Sunday is rose-colored, denoting
the theme of joy. The Christ candle is
white. The circle suggests eternity, the
greens symbolize life, and the cross
of lighted candles points to Christ.

In ancient northern cultures, the
lighting of bonfires and yule logs
was meant to ward off the midwinter
darkness and its sinister denizens.
So it is easy to see how Christians
combined the greenery of life and
the candles of light into the Advent
wreath. By lighting a new candle
each week, by accumulating the
brightness, we signify our hope in
the coming light of Christ, even as
daylight diminishes and darkness
rises with the approach of winter
solstice. Lighting the Advent wreath
in our homes and churches enacts
our faith in John's testimony: "The
light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness did not overcome it"
(Jn 1:5).

The minor feast day of St. Lucy, or
Lucia, on December 13 provides
another opportunity to celebrate the
coming light of Christ during Advent.
Lucia, whose name derives from lux
(Latin for "light"), was martyred in
Italy in 304. Devoted to Christ, she
gave all of her dowry to the poor,
infuriating the man she was to marry
by arrangement. He denounced her
to the governor, who had her killed
by the sword after attempts to burn
her failed. Lucy is especially honored
in Scandinavia as the Queen of Light.
The custom is for a daughter in the
home to wear a crown of candles
and go from room to room  awakening
the family from their deep midwinter
sleep and bringing them Lucia buns
baked with saffron.

Bobby Gross is director of graduate and
faculty ministries for InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship. Bobby also serves on the national
board of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA)
and lives in Atlanta, GA.

by Bobby Gross

In the early centuries, the
churches in the East celebrated
both the birth and the baptism
of Jesus on January 6. Not surprisingly,
the day became a major occasion
for performing baptisms, which led
to a preparatory period of fasting
and catechesis (instruction). During
the fourth century, the Eastern churches
followed the West's lead and adopted
December 25 for the Feast of the Nativity.
Even though this was no longer a day
for baptisms, Eastern churches retained
their tradition of penitential preparation.
This practice spread to the northern and
western regions of the church where
it fit well with the greater emphasis
there on the final coming and judgment
of Christ, which called for self-examination
and spiritual readiness. Today, Orthodox
Christians still observe a nativity fast
from meat November 15 through
December 24.

In the church centered in Rome, it
was a different story. There, Advent
entailed a festive preparation for the
birth of Christ from the start. In the
sixth century Pope Gregory the Great
established the forerunner of our
Advent by creating special masses for the
four Sundays preceding Christmas Day.
After seesawing over the ensuing centuries,
these two traditions, the "warm Latin joy"
and the "ascetic northern preparation"
eventually merged into the synthesis that
characterizes Advent today. While fasting
has largely fallen away in the West, we
still feel a subtle and fruitful tension. As
Christopher Hill puts it, "The pull between
the affectionate backward look and the
anxious forward look - both situated in the
world of human time" opens up the present
moment for Christ to come in our hearts.



Obviously, Advent and Christmas are closely
linked, and many cultural customs apply to
both seasons. For example, the Feast of St.
Nicholas, from which we get our idea of
Santa Claus, falls on December 6 in Advent.
Three Advent traditions - the Christmas tree,
the Advent wreath and the "O" Antiphons -
open for us respectively the themes of death
and life, darkness and light, doubt and longing.

Bobby Gross is director of graduate and
faculty ministries for InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship. Bobby also serves on the national
board of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA)
and lives in Atlanta, GA.