Every week of Advent is
dedicated to a particular theme, so that the first week is dedicated to The
Second Coming, the second week, to St. John the Baptist, the third week,
Gaudete Sunday and on this, the last week of Advent, we turn to Mary, she who
was given the most important vocation of all.
For, she was not a prophet, but knew more than all the prophets combined, she was not a voice crying out in the desert, but her actions spoke volumes, she was not a great princess, a prophetess, or even a well-known person, no, she was, by all accounts, a lowly handmaiden, betrothed to St. Joseph and told by an angel that she was to give birth, despite having no relations with a man.
And, while, indeed, this was God’s plan, as we heard in our Gospel, St. Joseph didn’t quite understand this plan, because he was betrothed to Mary and all he knew was that while he was betrothed to her she was pregnant.
Now, in Jewish custom, if a couple is betrothed to one another, there is a solemn contract that is established and from the point of the betrothal itself the man and woman are known as husband and wife.
So, even though to all appearances they were indeed married, as we understand it today, there was one thing they would not do, they would not live together until after the actual marriage ceremony. This is why Joseph wanted to issue a bill of divorce.
What’s more is that St. Joseph tries to divorce her quietly because he wants to avoid scandal and he wants to spare Mary not just her dignity and purity, but, since adultery could be punishable by death, even her very life.
For, she was not a prophet, but knew more than all the prophets combined, she was not a voice crying out in the desert, but her actions spoke volumes, she was not a great princess, a prophetess, or even a well-known person, no, she was, by all accounts, a lowly handmaiden, betrothed to St. Joseph and told by an angel that she was to give birth, despite having no relations with a man.
And, while, indeed, this was God’s plan, as we heard in our Gospel, St. Joseph didn’t quite understand this plan, because he was betrothed to Mary and all he knew was that while he was betrothed to her she was pregnant.
Now, in Jewish custom, if a couple is betrothed to one another, there is a solemn contract that is established and from the point of the betrothal itself the man and woman are known as husband and wife.
So, even though to all appearances they were indeed married, as we understand it today, there was one thing they would not do, they would not live together until after the actual marriage ceremony. This is why Joseph wanted to issue a bill of divorce.
What’s more is that St. Joseph tries to divorce her quietly because he wants to avoid scandal and he wants to spare Mary not just her dignity and purity, but, since adultery could be punishable by death, even her very life.
That is why before he has a
chance an angel appears to him in a dream in order to explain everything to
him, and while many might just think it a dream or, run in fear or disbelief,
instead, he trusts the angel, and he not only believes what the angel says but
does what the angel tells him. (Incidentally, this is known as St. Joseph’s
dream, one of four, from which many famous artworks have been created.)
St. Joseph doesn’t speak a
single word in the Bible, yet, this gives us an idea of who he was, and why,
indeed, he was chosen to be the husband of Mary and the foster-father of Jesus.
Because, he, like Mary truly understood what Isaiah meant when he spoke of Emmanuel, of which St. Matthew, in our Gospel, tells us means “God-with-us.”
And, yet, that word Emmanuel is not just the culmination of the Advent season, it is also part of something that develops in the early centuries of the Church, and it is known as the “O Antiphons.”
Essentially, there are 7 different antiphons from December 17th-23rd and each antiphon is a different name for Jesus.
So, that it starts with “O Sapientia, O Wisdom, then O Adonai, O Lord, and then O Radix Jesse, O Root of Jesse, and after that, O Clavis David, O key of David, O Oriens, O Radiant Dawn, today, O Rex Gentium, O King of Nations, and lastly, O Emmanuel.” The most common since it is also part of the great hymn that we have been singing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
Because, he, like Mary truly understood what Isaiah meant when he spoke of Emmanuel, of which St. Matthew, in our Gospel, tells us means “God-with-us.”
And, yet, that word Emmanuel is not just the culmination of the Advent season, it is also part of something that develops in the early centuries of the Church, and it is known as the “O Antiphons.”
Essentially, there are 7 different antiphons from December 17th-23rd and each antiphon is a different name for Jesus.
So, that it starts with “O Sapientia, O Wisdom, then O Adonai, O Lord, and then O Radix Jesse, O Root of Jesse, and after that, O Clavis David, O key of David, O Oriens, O Radiant Dawn, today, O Rex Gentium, O King of Nations, and lastly, O Emmanuel.” The most common since it is also part of the great hymn that we have been singing, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”
And, that hymn is not meant
to just focus on the coming of the Christ child, it also meant to slow us down,
to use it almost as a form of contemplation, which is why that hymn is slower
and more subdued. Perhaps, this is part of God’s wisdom, given how stressful
Christmas becomes for so many.
At the same time, however, it
puts things in perspective and it reminds us what Christmas is all about, that
we are still truly a people in waiting, an Advent people, in season or out of
season.
And it is these Antiphons,
these invocations that call us and help us in this waiting. Perhaps, this is
also why, it was discovered that these Antiphons are structured in a unique way
and why the O Come Emmanuel is actually the last and climactic verse in the
series.
Because, these Antiphons, as you heard, were originally written in Latin, and the first letters of each word from the Latin form a new word: S-A-R-C-O-R-E, which doesn’t mean anything until it is reversed, because when it is reversed it forms a new word: ERO CRAS, a Latin word that simply means “I shall be there tomorrow.”
Reminding us all, in the end, that this is what makes it worth it, that this is why we wait, that this is why prepare, because tomorrow, whenever that tomorrow may be, He will be here, our Emmanuel, our Lord, our God, who is with us and will be here soon.
Because, these Antiphons, as you heard, were originally written in Latin, and the first letters of each word from the Latin form a new word: S-A-R-C-O-R-E, which doesn’t mean anything until it is reversed, because when it is reversed it forms a new word: ERO CRAS, a Latin word that simply means “I shall be there tomorrow.”
Reminding us all, in the end, that this is what makes it worth it, that this is why we wait, that this is why prepare, because tomorrow, whenever that tomorrow may be, He will be here, our Emmanuel, our Lord, our God, who is with us and will be here soon.
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