December 17, 2021 - Advent Week 3

Holy Wisdom (icon, 1670’s)


When I was given the readings for today, I was very excited to see that I was able to use the first of the O Antiphons for my reflection. This last week before the feast of the Nativity the O antiphons have a profound effect on the spirituality of Advent itself. Each of the antiphons refers to the prophecy of Christ as Messiah as found in the utterances of the prophet Isaiah. On December 17, the O-Antiphon “O Sapientia” begins by invoking “Holy Wisdom,” the ancient feminine embodiment of the Divine Presence in the Hebrew Scriptures. Here is the Latin text, and a literal translation:


O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, suaviterque disponens omnia: veni ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.

O Wisdom, who proceeds from the mouth of the Most High, reaching out mightily from end to end, and sweetly arranging all things: Come to teach us the way of prudence.

 
In all honesty, I really didn’t know much about the O Antiphons until Joanne used them in our Vesper service the first Sunday in Advent. I have always loved the ancient advent hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel but honestly had no idea that the antiphons and this hymn were so entwined.


In advent, we are encouraged to meditate on the wisdom of God, recognizing that it is both deeply ingrained in the universe and yet also alien and elusive. It is God’s wisdom that is coming to birth in a baby who has no power and no status, who will live a short, unsuccessful life and die a painful and shameful death.


Learning to live in the wisdom of God is learning to attend to and trust what God has made. 


The O-Antiphons give voice to the deepest longing of Advent, the coming of the Redeemer. In the English-speaking world, the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” has popularized these O-Antiphons far beyond the confines of the church’s liturgy. The seven verses of this hymn have traditionally been sung during the seven days leading up to Christmas. The verses begin with a different “O” statement addressing Jesus with one of his titles.

O come O come Emmanuel
O come thou Rod of Jesse, free
O come thou Dayspring, from on high
O come thou Key of David, come
O come Adonai, Lord of might
O come, thou Wisdom, from on high
O come, Desire of Nations, come


Our modern version of the hymns was written by John Mason Neale, an Anglican priest and scholar of the 19th century. As you listen to the musical example, I encourage you to listen to the one of the most intriguing features of the hymn is its tune, Veni Emmanuel. The arrangement by Taylor Scott Davis and performed by the ensemble VOCES8 is both haunting and beautiful. The tune seems to embody the reflective hope expressed within its words. In the refrain, the repeated phrase “rejoice,” stirs real feeling of joy in the heart, yet the final words of the refrain return to a more somber mode, leaving us in a state of expectation, albeit a hopeful one. The tune originated in a 15th-century French chant for use at burials and was then paired with the text by Thomas Helmore in 1851.  Helmore recognized, quite brilliantly, that the somber experience of death together with the hope of resurrection, could double to cover the emotional territory of Advent.  Both involve a somber hope of waiting upon God’s promises.  And perhaps that is a good way of thinking about faith:  a settled hope in God, even in the midst of the world’s decay.


As we approach Christmas, may the praying and counting the O-Antiphons direct our desires toward that midnight hour between the 24th and the 25th of December when, two millennia ago God was born in human form.


- Karen Hudson


VOCES8: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (arr. Taylor Scott Davis)

 


 

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