O Radix Jesse

I hope this last Saturday before Christmas is not too busy for you. I hope you get a chance to take a deep breath and relax. I hope you get to enjoy the first day of two weeks off from school if you have kids.

My friend Thalia tells me the word Antiphon is Greek, and she would know since she herself is a beautiful Greek woman and a dear friend from my college days at DePaul in Chicago.

On to today's O Antiphon! First, as usual, in Latin:

O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.

Radishes? What's that got to do with Advent? OK, here's the translation:

O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

The thing I like about poetry and song is that it can say a lot in just a few words. This brief antiphon is packed with imagery of what the Christ child means to those of waiting for his birth at Christmas. Jesse, of course, is David's father, and the ancestor of Jesus. But Christ is also the root, the foundation of our lives, here on earth, today. Christ stands as a banner before all people. In His presence the most powerful rulers are silent. Even the enemies of God's people will recognize Christ and come to worship Him. So, HURRY UP AND GET HERE!

My prayer for you today is that, with all the hustle and bustle of the season, you are able to remain patient and during moments of waiting you are able to take the time to remember that Christ's birth is the reason for the season, and take joy in His coming.

To close, the corresponding verse from O Come O Come Emmanuel:

O come, O Rod of Jesse free,
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.