O Antiphons!

What of the things Dad loved about Advent was being able to meditate upon the O Antiphons.
He did reflections for them from Dec. 17th - Dec. 23rd in another document I found.
I am one day behind so I am going to share the Dec. 17th and 18th reflections in this post and then one per day over the next few days.

Enjoy them, say them out loud, share them with your family or maybe make up your own antiphon for the Lord!

O Wisdom

December 17

Proverbs 8; 1 Corinthians 1;18-31

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things:  Come and teach us the way of prudence.

Wisdom is God¹s spokeman, the One who speaks the truth about God from the mouth of God.  By wisdom the simple gain prudence, and the foolish gain understanding.  Wisdom is more precious than jewels; wisdom¹s gifts are worth more than gold.  Wisdom is a gift from God.  For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  Wisdom is knowledge and understanding shaped by the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Wisdom left its mark on the created order.  Through Wisdom all things were created.  Wisdom was with God before all things, and through Wisdom all things were made.  The beauty of the stars, the splendor of the seas, the marvelous variety of birds and fishes, the intricacies of a DNA double-helix, the mystery of distant galaxies.  These are Wisdom¹s fingerprints.  Science studies the fingerprints, but fails to see the hand.  That must be perceived by faith.

Man turned away from God seeks knowledge without the fear of God.  Information and facts.  Study the creation without knowing the Creator.  Worship the creature instead of the Creator.  ³You can be like God,² said the original Lie.  ³You can have knowledge without God.  Just reach in for yourself and grab it.²  That is not the way of Wisdom but Folly, foolishness, unbelief.  ³The fool says in his heart there is no God.²  The end of Folly is death.

Jesus Christ is Wisdom incarnate, wisdom in the flesh.  He is the ³power of God and the wisdom of God.²  ³He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  He reflects the very glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.²  He is the ³glue² that holds the universe together.  Your cells, your DNA, a table, a chair - they hold together by the power of His word.  It¹s what the scientists search for and long to find.  The ordering wisdom of the universe.  He is Jesus Christ - the One born in Bethlehem who hung on a cross and rose from the dead.

He teaches us the way of prudence, the way of Wisdom that leads to life.  That way is the way of the cross, of dying and rising, repentance and faith.  This way is foolishness to the wordly-wise, yet to those made wise through His Word and Spirit, it is God¹s creative wisdom to save.  He will come to raise us one day.  And then you who are wise in Him will shine as the brightness of the heavens.

O Adonai

Exodus 3:1-15 / Philippians 2:5-11

December 18

O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai:  Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us.

Adonai is Hebrew for Lord.  Lord is the substitute term for Yahweh, the sacred, saving, Gospel name of God.  ³Say this to the people of Israel, Yahweh the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.¹²  This is my name for ever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.²  To say Adonai is to say Yahweh, the Name that saves.

³Whom shall I say sent me?  What is His Name?²   To have the Name of God is to have God Himself.  ³Tell them Ehyeh asher ehyeh sent you.²  I am who I am.  Ehyeh.  I AM.  YHWH.  He is the One who is.  The God whose saving Name is a verb.  His Name is action.

Every day, in the morning and in the evening, the Name of the Lord was proclaimed:

Shema Israel, Adonai eluhenu, Adonai echad.  Hear O Israel, YHWH our God, YHWH alone.  There is none other like YHWH.

Where God¹s Name is, there He holy ground.  The Lord is present.  Where His Name is, there is Gospel fire, fire that burns but does not consume.  His burning love and passion to save.  Where His Name is, there He is mighty to save.  ³I am YHWH, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment, and I will take you for my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am Yahweh, your God.²

³Hail, O favored one, YHWH is with you,² the angel said to Mary.  ³You will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, Y¹shua.  YHWH is salvation.  Jesus incarnates the Name of God.  He is YHWH in the flesh.  ³Before Abraham was, I AM,² Jesus said.  To reject this Jesus is to reject the I AM of the burning bush, of Sinai and the Red Sea, the Lord of Israel, the Lord of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  There is no other Name, no other Lord who saves you.

To have a Lord is to have a redeemer.  Jesus is your Adonai, your Redeemer.  You didn¹t make Him Lord.  He became your Lord by dying and rising for you, and by baptizing you into His death and resurrection.  He will come to raise the dead.  And then you will confess what you now confess by faith:  Adonai Y¹shua Hamashiach.  Lord Jesus Christ.