URC Daily Devotion 18th September

It is based upon the Great ‘O’ set of ancient 9th century ‘Antiphons’ – refrains that were sung in Latin in the evening Office of Vespers before and / or after the Magnificat during the seven days before Christmas Eve.  Each is based upon one or more of the vivid titles of the Messiah found mainly in the Hebrew Scriptures.  

In some religious houses the custom was for each day’s chant to be led by a different person, who would also prepare the meal or drinks which followed; the equivalent of ‘standing a round!’  

In the original sequence, they referred to Wisdom (Proverbs 8); Adonai / Leader of the House of Israel (Exodus 3); Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:10); Key of David (Isaiah 22:22); The Dayspring / Sunrise (Malachi 4:2 & Isaiah 28:16); the Corner Stone which unites (Haggai 2:7 & Isaiah 28:16; and finally, bringing them all together,  Emanuel, King and Law-giver, the expected Saviour of the nations.

Nowadays of course we are much more likely to simply sing it as set, though once, while in college, I remember a leader of worship who had the idea to structure a whole service around the Great ‘O’s. It consisted of a series of reflections on the theme within each verse, each of which was so monumentally dull that several of us got the giggles, like naughty ten-year-olds.  It was a master class in taking a good idea and sadly implementing it so badly that for me I took ten years before I could sing the hymn without wincing (not to mention feeling a little guilty!)  Fortunately with time I have come to re-appreciate the beauty of the melody and immerse myself in the messianic expectation rooted in Judaism, developed in medieval times and still capable in our 21st Century worship, of touching us and being a deeply spiritual part of our Advent preparation.