O Adonai

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's e-mail. I appreciate the kind words of thanks from so many of you. Congratulations to Uncle Dayt and Aunt Carolyn up in Maryland for identifying O Come O Come Emmanuel as the hymn that is based on the O Antiphons. The corresponding verse for yesterday's Antiphon:

O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who orders all things mightily,
to us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

Now on to the O Antiphon for today, December 18. First in Latin:

O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel, qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti, et ei in Sina legem dedisti: veni ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.

And now a translation:

O Lord and Ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law on Sinai; come, and redeem us with outstretched arms.

In reading about the O Antiphons, two things struck me about today's prayer. First, the same God who was so powerful that he revealed himself to Moses in fire and from the heavens on Mt. Sinai humbled himself to become a babe in a manger. Second, the choice of words at the end of the prayer is surely no accident, and "outstretched arms" foreshadows Christ's death on the cross to ensure our redemption.

And so, my prayer for us all today is that we may emulate God by practicing the virtue of humility , who sent us his one true Son to earth to redeem us from our sins.

In closing, the relevant verse from O Come O Come Emmanuel:

O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty, and awe.