O Come All Ye Faithful

The Nativity of Our Lord

Congregational Christmas Letter

Dearest children of the Heavenly Father:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!  O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come and behold Him born the King of angels!

For more than two centuries those beautiful words have beckoned God’s faithful to come—joyful and triumphant—to Bethlehem and behold Him who was born the King of angels. You are among those faithful, adopted by your heavenly Father in Holy Baptism to be His beloved children.

Christmas encapsulates one of the most profound mysteries of all—God taking on human flesh and blood to save us from our sins. God comes to us as one of us. A tiny infant. He who will one day walk on water cannot yet crawl. He who will one day feed 5000 cannot yet lift a spoon to His mouth. He who will one day heal the crippled and lame cannot yet stand. He who will one day speak words of forgiveness cannot yet talk. Christmas is the Word (who created all things) enfleshed and dwelling among us. John Wade’s Christmas hymn sums up this mystery as follows:

Highest, most holy, Light of Light eternal, born of a virgin, a mortal He comes; Son of the Father now in flesh appearing!

How does a heart cleansed by this King of angels respond?

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God in the highest.

That’s how. We join our voices with the angelic choirs. We give glory to God for fulfilling His promises and sending us His salvation. He rejoice that in Christ there is now peace between God and man, for the Father is now well pleased with us through the merits of His own dear Son.

Remember that as you come into God’s house this Christmas to celebrate the birth of His Son. Remember how He who first finds Himself in a smelly stable will one day free mankind from the stench of sin. How He who first finds Himself lying in the wood of a manger will one day be nailed to the wood of the cross. How He who first finds Himself wrapped in swaddling cloths will one day be wrapped in linens cloths following His death. What else can faith say but:

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given! Word of the Father now in flesh appearing!

On behalf of Lori and our boys, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. I am honored and humbled to serve as your pastor, deliver Christ’s good gifts to you, and rejoice in the same forgiveness, life, and salvation He has won for us all. Christ will always be at the heart and center of everything we are, say, and do.

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

O Dayspring

The fifth O Antiphon:

O Dayspring, Splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.

The picture here is that of Christ who will return at the end of time and whose radiant light will completely dispel the darkness of our hearts and souls. We also recall Zechariah’s prophecy concerning Christ: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. [Isaiah 9:2]

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, 

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; 

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 

And death’s dark shadows put to flight. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 6]

O Key of David

The fourth O Antiphon:

O Key of David and Scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open: Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen.

It is the Messiah’s privilege to open or shut the gate into the Kingdom of God. We cry to Him to come and rescue us who, because of our sins, are prisoners of death, darkness, and the devil.

Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. [Isaiah 9:7]

And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. [Isaiah 22:22]

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 5]

O Root of Jesse

The third O Antiphon:

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage: Come quickly to deliver us. Amen.

This antiphon draws its inspiration from Isaiah 11. The prophet there sees the Messiah coming “as a signal for the peoples.” We are also reminded of Jesus’ words: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death He was going to die (John 22:32-33).

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. [Isaiah 11:1]

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of Him shall the nations inquire, and His resting place shall be glorious. [Isaiah 11:10]

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, 

Free them from Satan’s tyranny 

That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save, 

And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 4]

O Adonai

The second O Antiphon:

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. Amen.

The Lord made Himself known to Moses by telling him His name (I AM). The holy name in this antiphon (Adonai) will always remind us of the great deeds God has done for the deliverance of Israel. And, more significantly, it puts us in the context of the paschal mystery, for the coming of the Son who dies on the cross is the ultimate manifestation of God’s redemptive work.

With righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His loins. [Isaiah 11:4-5] 

For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; He will save us. [Isaiah 33:22]

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.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 3]

O Wisdom

The first O Antiphon:

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. Amen.

A dominant theme of the Old Testament is that of “Wisdom” (especially in Proverbs). Wisdom proceeds from God, creates and establishes order, and leads His faithful people in righteousness and holiness. From its beginning, the Church identified Jesus, the Word of God, with the Wisdom of the Old Testament. In this antiphon, we call upon the Son to teach us and lead us in the way of justice and righteousness.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. [Isaiah 11:2-3a]

This also comes from the LORD of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. [Isaiah 28:29]

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high

Who ord’rest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 2]

The O Antiphons

Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the church year. The wreath with its four candles bears more and more light as Christmas is about to dawn. The purple paraments remind us to prepare the royal highway for the King of kings. The midweek services teach us more about “God with us” in the person of Jesus Christ. And the tranquil hymns remind us of the Christ who once came in Bethlehem, still comes in Word and Sacrament, and will come again on the Day of Resurrection.

Here at Divine Shepherd, the common thread that runs through the fabric of this season is the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” [LSB 357]. This hymn is based on the ancient O Antiphons (dating at least as far back as the fifth century) assigned to the seven days preceding the Church’s celebration of Christ’s birth:

• December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
• December 18: O Adonai (O Lord of Might)
• December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
• December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
• December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
• December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
• December 23: O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel)

The first letters of the Latin titles taken backwards form the acrostic “ero cras,” which translates as “tomorrow, I will come.” As will be shown in the days ahead, each of the seven O Antiphons uses a prophetic Messianic title from the Old Testament Scriptures (specifically Isaiah).

I encourage you to pray these during the final week leading up to Christ’s birth!