O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expected of the Nations and their Savior, come to save us, O Lord our God.
Today’s O Antiphon is the last completing the series that when spelled backwards spells ero cras. Tomorrow I will be here.
December 17 O Sapientia (Wisdom)
December 18 O Adonai (Lord)
December 19 O Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse)
December 20 O Clavis David (Key of David
December 21 O Oriens (O coming Dawn)
December 22 O Rex Gentium (King of the Gentiles)
December 23 O Emmanuel (God With us)
Tomorrow of course is Christmas eve, the beginning of the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is worth noting how the antiphon reiterates the idea of expectation. For the people of Israel, the prophetic tradition proclaimed that a Messiah would come and redeem Israel. That King and Lawgiver did come, but not how anyone would have expected. Here we see a theme so prevalent in the gospels, that the small and insignificant like the mustard seed and the small grain of yeast, are allegories to the spread of the kingdom of God. We should consider this antiphon and recall how we expect God to be present in our lives but not be blinded by our expectations of when and how this presence will be revealed. Who would have thought that redemption would occur by means of a baby whose diapers needed to be changed every three hours?