O Clavis David

The “O Antiphons” continue, today’s from Father Mark:

O Key of David and Sceptre of the House of Israel , who opens and no one can shut,
who shuts and no one can open (Is 22:22; Rev 3:7): Come and bring the prisoners forth from the prison cell, those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death (Is 42:7; Ps 106:13-14; Lk 1:9).

The Key of the House of David

The antiphon draws its invocation from the twenty–second chapter of Isaiah. The Lord says to Shebna, the master of the household of King Hezekiah, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Helkias, and I will clothe him with thy robe, and will strengthen him with thy girdle, and will give thy power into his hand: and he shall be as a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Juda. And I will lay the key of the house of David upon his shoulder: and he shall open, and none shall shut: and he shall shut and none shall open. And I will fasten him as a peg in a sure place, and he shall be for a throne of glory to the house of his father” (Is 22:20–23).

A Key Borne on the Shoulder

Eliakim, whose name means, “God has raised up,” is a figure of Christ. Christ is Lord and Master over the household of the Father. On the shoulder of Christ was placed the key of the Cross, the key that opens what no mortal can open, and that closes what no mortal can close. In the image of the great key placed on the shoulder we recognize a figure of the Cross placed on the shoulder of Christ, the key by which heaven is opened and hell vanquished.

Before Thee A Door

The second biblical source of the antiphon’s invocation is in the third chapter of the Apocalypse. “And to the angel of the church of Philadelphia, write: These things saith the Holy One and the true one, he that hath the key of David; he that openeth, and no man shutteth; shutteth, and no man openeth. I know thy works.” (Ap 3:7). Read on! The following verse is crucial: “Behold, I have given before thee a door opened, which no man can shut: because thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word and hast not denied my name” (Ap 3:8). The open door set before us is like the door opened before the Virgin Mary by the message of the Angel. It is comforting to hear the Lord say to each of us, “Thou hast a little strength” (Rev 3:8). Our little strength is no obstacle to the designs of God, “ because no word shall be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37).

Out of Darkness

The O Antiphons are composed of two parts: the invocation beginning with the word “O,” and the petition beginning with the cry, “Veni.” The petition of today’s antiphon is derived from the Song of the Servant given in the forty-second chapter of Isaiah. There, the Lord God presents his servant whom he upholds, the Chosen in whom his soul delights” (Is 42:3). The Servant is given as “a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Is 47:7).

The Orient From on High

The second text related to the petition of the antiphon is a familiar one because we sing it every morning at Lauds in the Benedictus. “Through the bowels of the mercy of our God . . . the Orient from on high hath visited us: to enlighten them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death: to direct our feet into the way of peace” (Lk 1:79). The way of peace is the way opened before us by the Cross-bearing Christ. Christ, with the key of the Cross, opens the door before us.

Into the Mystery of the Eucharist

The way of peace leads to the altar and into the mystery of the Eucharist, the actualization of the Kingdom here and now. From the altar, the light of the Resurrection penetrates into all that, in our lives, remains shadowy and locked. With the Virgin of the Annunciation, we have only to believe in Love and, believing, say faith’s simple “Yes.” Our “little strength” is of no consequence. Let us go in to the Eucharist to be overshadowed by the power of Love. Love will do the rest for “God is love” (1 Jn 4:16 ) and “ no word shall be impossible with God” (Lk 1:37).

O Root of Jesse

The third “O Antiphon” from Jeanne Kun: 

O Root of Jesse, you stand as a sign for the peoples; before you kings shall keep silence and to you all nations shall have recourse.  Come, save us, and do not delay.

Isaiah 52:13, 15; 53:2: “See, my servant shall prosper…So shall he startle many nations, because of him kings shall stand speechless. …He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot”.

O Adonai

The second “O Antiphon” from Jeanne Kun:

O Adonai and Ruler of the House of Israel, you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush and on Mount Sinai gave him your law.  Come, and with outstretched arm redeem us.

Exodus 3:2: “An angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush.  As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed”.

Exodus 6:6: “Therefore say to the Israelites: I am Yahweh.  I will free you from the enforced labor of the Egyptians and will deliver you from their slavery.  I will rescue you by my outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment”.

O Wisdom

Today begins the “O” Antiphons that lead us up to Christmas, from Jeanne Kun:

O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and, reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly. Come, and teach us the way of prudence.

This antiphon, like all the others to follow, is based on a composite of Scripture texts.

Sirach 24:3: “From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and like mist covered the earth”.

Wisdom 8:1: “She reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well”.