The O Antiphons - Part 4
Published: 20th December, 2014
In the last days of Advent the Church sharpens its focus on the coming of Jesus. In particular it thinks about who the child born of Mary really is. The readings at Mass concentrate on the events that led up to his birth. They include the ancestry of Jesus, his conception by Mary, the part played by Joseph and the circumstances of the birth of that great herald, John the Baptist.
To provide even richer insight the Church has reused the ancient O Antiphons. They date back to 9th Century Gaul and were originally written for use at Evening Prayer of the Church to be sung before and after the Magnificat in the days leading up to Christmas. After the reforms of the Second Vatican Council it was decided to include them at the celebration of Mass as well so that more people would be able to hear and appreciate them. They now form the verses used at the Gospel Acclamation.
The O Antiphons take Biblical themes which express the mystery of Christ and weave them together. Five of them in the later middle ages were adapted to produce the hymn we now know as 'O come, O come, Emmanuel'. The stress of each Antiphon moves towards the word 'veni' - 'come' expressing the desire of the children of God for the return of Christ.
Each day they provide a wonderful opportunity to pause and think about what we are celebrating at this time of the year.
20th December
O Key of David, and Sceptre of the house of Israel: who opens and no one closes; closes and no one opens: come and lead out the captive from prison, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death.
In kingdoms of ancient times a person who held the keys of the king was very important because of the access he could allow or prevent. Taking this image we think of Jesus as the ultimate Key descended from David. He can open all doors to let us in and he can release all those locked up in darkness and captivity. His power to close means he can keep far from us all that might be dangerous. We ask Jesus to set us free.