One of the great joys of Advent is remembering that move from the Jewish faith to the new faith of Jesus, and remembering just how different and shocking the new faith seemed to Jews, even to the Jewish followers of Jesus.
From the 16th December, a series of antiphons are sung, called "The Great Os." They are all cries for God to come into our lives, but are all different ways of looking at God, and develop as we get nearer to Christmas.
The first ones, O Wisdom, O Adonai, O Root of Jesse, O Key of David, O Dayspring and O King of the Nations represent the older, Jewish, way of seeing God, referring to various attempts by Old Testament writers to make the enormity of God comprehensible to people.
The new Wisdom Window in the Chapel of St Catharine's College, Cambridge
'O Wisdom, which camest out of the mouth of the most High,
And reachest from one end to another, mightily, and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.'
The seventh, O Emmanuel, represents a seismic shift in our understanding of God. Emmanuel means 'God is with us.' Suddenly in Christ God ceases to be a far off concept. God has come down to our level. For the first time, human beings touch God, we hug him and kiss him, share food and drink with him.
We are so used to the idea of God in human form that we forget how shocking this idea would have been to people. In Exodus, God warns the Israelites that his presence would kill them outright, and Moses' face shines so that he has to wear a veil just from speaking with God. Our nativity pictures should not make us go "Aaaah" so much as "Wow!"
A nativity scene from the Epiphany Chapel in Winchester Cathedral.
Notice how serious the angels, Mary and Joseph look. This isn't
a happy homely scene. Mary's head is bowed in awe, and the king
on the right looks like his eyes are about to burst from their sockets.
"O Emmanuel, our King and Law-giver, the desire of all nations
and their salvation, come and save us, O Lord, our God."
The last antiphon rams this point home. "O Virgin of Virgins, how shall this be? for neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after. Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye after me? The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery." The mystery of the Incarnation is so mind-boggling that we simply can't process it, and will never understand it.
Hear ye people, even to the ends of the earth! God is with us! Christ is born!
O Wisdom, coming forth from the mouth of the Most High,
reaching from one end to the other,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
Come and teach us the way of prudence.
O Adonai, and leader of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
O Root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples;
before you kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.
O Key of David and sceptre of the House of Israel;
you open and no one can shut;
you shut and no one can open:
Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house,
those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.
O Virgin of virgins, how shall this be?
For neither before thee was any like thee, nor shall there be after.
Daughters of Jerusalem, why marvel ye at me?
The thing which ye behold is a divine mystery.
Banana and Walnut muffins for "O Wisdom"
Peace and Goodwill from Hilfield!
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