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The O Antiphons
The last seven verses of the well-known Advent hymn O Come, O Come, Emmanuel utilize seven unique names to identify Jesus or praise a particular characteristic of the Savior of the Nations. Reflecting on these seven stanzas has inspired us to share a daily thought with you. Through these, we hope to connect you further to this place and ministry of which we are a part, but more importantly to draw our focus on the coming of our Lord.
O Emmanuel, our king and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God.
Gathering the previous six reflections together with today’s stanza, we can examine the first letter of each antiphon. In the original Latin, these letters (not counting the ‘O’) are as follows:
Sapientia (Wisdom)
Adonai (Lord)
Radix Iesse (Root of Jesse)
Clavis (Key)
Oriens (Morning)
Rex (King)
Emmanuel (God with us)
Writing these in reverse spells EROCRAS, Latin for ‘tomorrow, I will be there’. This is a most fitting, and intentional, response to our pleas that Christ would come to us. And now, on the eve of the celebration of His holy birth and across the oceans, we rejoice together in God made flesh, born to live, die, and live again for the salvation of those whose trust is in Him alone.
We hope you have enjoyed this daily activity, learning a little more about Korea along the way. Thank you for the many ways you support us faithfully, making our presence and ministry here a possibility. The Wasmund family wishes you a wonderful, blessed, and Merry Christmas!
The Wasmunds Matt, Dee Dee, Lily and Olivia LCMS missionaries in East Asia
– Here are links to our prayer card and our online, tax-deductible giving page. – We are always looking for new colleagues to join us in this ministry. If you or someone you know is interested, please let us know.
