For some, the eschatological (second coming) themes associated with Advent may take on a heightened significance at the close of the twentieth century and the dawning of the twenty-first. But Jesus himself urged caution lest human arrogance try to predict the breaking in of the new age. He told his disciples of the signs and tribulations that would precede his return, yet in the end he would reappear when least expected—he would come in God’s own good time. The disciples, and thus the church, were charged to wait and to be vigilant: to be like wise bridesmaids with their oil lamps filled, ready to meet the Bridegroom. Like Boy Scouts, believers are to be prepared, but not fearful, for “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). At the turn into the new millennium, as with every Advent season, the church reclaims the work of watching and waiting, all the while trusting in God’s promises. One of the treasures of the church are the “O Antiphons,” also known as the “Great Os” and “Major Antiphons” (antiphonae majores). They are at least as old as the ninth century and are still used by Christians in worship during Advent, either as antiphons, or compressed as stanzas in the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” See UMH #211 for one form of the complete O ANTIPHONS texts. Traditionally the Antiphons were used at the beginning and the conclusion of the singing of the Magnificat (the song of Mary, Luke 1:46-55) during the time of vespers (evening prayer) December 17-23. One Antiphon was used for each day. The name “O Antiphons” comes from the fact that in Latin they begin with the vocative “O.” Each Antiphon also uses the imperative “come” to convey the expectation, desire, and longing for both the first and second coming, and for the deliverance that Advent will bring. Jesus’ ancestry is addressed in one of the Antiphons: “O Root of Jesse, who stands for an ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and to whom the Gentiles shall make their supplication: Come, deliver us and tarry not.” Jesse was the father of David, King of Israel, and Jesus was a descendant of David. The linkage of Jesus with David was regarded as a fulfillment of the expectation of the Old Testament that from the stump of Jesse would come a new shoot (Isaiah 11:1). The beginning of the Antiphon is a paraphrase of that expectation voiced in Isaiah 11:10. In Jesus, the old kingdom established by David would take on a new dimension. This kingdom, God’s kingdom, would embrace all nations and would be without end (Luke 1:32-33). So the church, with urgency, raises the petition that God’s kingdom will come without delay—that the prayer “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” will soon be a reality. For in spite of the announcing of the kingdom by the first coming of Christ, still, to use the words of the Psalmist, “the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and his anointed” (Psalm 2:2). Another Antiphon presents the familiar text, “O Emmanuel, our Ruler and Lawgiver, the Expected of the nations and their Savior: Come to save us, O Lord our God.” Jesus came into the world as the long-expected messiah, the sign that God is with us. As the fulfillment of the law of Moses, he is our judge, our ruler, and our hope. Jesus is the means for our salvation, for he is the one mediator between God and humanity (Isaiah 33:22, 1 Timothy 2:5). Therefore, until that final day when God’s work of salvation is complete, the appropriate response of a grateful church is obedience, faith, prayer, and praise. For “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Advent encapsulates the hope of all Christians. The first coming of Christ in Bethlehem inaugurated a new phase in God’s work of human salvation. The church now waits expectantly for the second coming that will complete the process begun long ago in David’s royal city. That day will come, in God’s own time. But like the visionary of Patmos, we pray, “Maranatha: Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”
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QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION & DISCUSSION
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-- Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, an elder in the Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference, is Assistant Professor of Liturgical Studies at the Divinity School, Duke University. Her book, American Methodist Worship, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.
Other Millennial Perspective Articles: | The Centrality of Christian Worship | Worship Forming Faith | Hope | The Changing Cultural Look of Worship | Visual Arts | | Advent: Between the Times | Worshiping with Jubilation | Children and 21st Century Worship |
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| Introduction | Preface | Contents | Copyright | | Millennial Perspectives | Worship and Study Resources | | Seven Days of Praise and Prayer |Prayer and Worship for a Jubilee Week | The Last Letter: Revelation’s News | Repairing the World: God's Gift of Jubilee | Hymns | Additional Liturgical Resources | Appendix |
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he word Advent is derived from the Latin word adventus which means “coming.” During the four weeks of Advent, Christians anticipate the celebration of the coming of God’s Messiah as a babe in a manger. However, the season is more than preparation for the birth of Christ. After all, Jesus’ birth is an event that has already taken place. Perhaps more important, Advent speaks to the belief that Christ will come again, but at a day and hour known only by the Father (Matthew 24:36). Within the season of Advent is summed up the saving work of Emmanuel—God with us—for Advent marks Christ’s first coming in the fullness of time (the one who was), Christ’s coming into our hearts at the present time (the one who is), and Christ’s return at the end of time (the one who is to come). Advent reminds the church that it is faithfully to proclaim the gospel and to wait expectantly during the interim before Christ’s second coming. Advent embraces both the beginning—the Christian “beginning” with God assuming human flesh—and the end, the anticipated completion of God’s work of human salvation. In Advent, therefore, the beginning and the end meet. The season thus presents anew to the Christian community the one who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.