 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Saturday, December 17, 20224 Advent tomorrow O Come, O Come, Emmanuel The Great O antiphons The “Great O” Antiphons You might recognize these from the hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Between today and Christmas Eve one of these is sung or chanted before and after the Magnificat – the hymn of Mary (“My soul magnifies the Lord…” – at Evening Prayer. They began to be used in the 7th century in Italy, and have had a prominent place in western liturgy. There are some wonderful musical settings for each of them, but the words alone are also beautiful, referring to one or another prophetic titles for the Messiah. Each begins with the call – “O….. come” The first one for this evening is “O Wisdom.” The verse in O Come, O Come, Emmanuel is:  Surely that is something for which we should gladly pray – show us the path of real knowledge, and teach us to walk in her way. And we are sure that the Lord, who IS Wisdom, would delight to do this for any who ask.  The Gospel for Sunday, December 18 Matthew 1:18-25 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel.,” which means “God is with us.”When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.  |
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