Advent 1 November 29, 2020
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 O Antiphon for December 17 Hymn #357
The Source of True Wisdom
v. 22-24 “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greek, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Antiphon—O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Dear friends in Christ, today marks the day of a new church year—so, Happy New Year! As this day marks the beginning of the season of Advent, we are going to be embarking on a journey through the ancient O Antiphons of Advent as found in our hymnals in conjunction with hymn #357. These antiphons are so old that we don’t know where they come from or who might have written them, but the church has been using them for a very, very long, time.
First of all, however, what exactly is an antiphon, anyway? An antiphon is a little verse or statement that comes before a hymn of praise or canticle or psalm of Scripture, that highlights what the feast or day is all about. They are centred on a theme. These antiphons of Advent are paraphrases of Holy Scripture that express our desire for the Saviour as we await His coming with great expectation. The O Antiphons come from the service of Vespers and frame Mary’s hymn of praise—the Magnificat, coming both before and after her beautiful song of the incarnation. These verses focus us on the incarnate Lord Jesus and walk us through time as we see how God will act in history to save His people.
One may very well say, “This is all fine and dandy, but how relevant can they be for us today?” Well, to answer the question as to whether or not they are relevant is to ask whether or not Jesus is relevant today. And the answer, therefore, is of course, a very big YES!!! Each antiphon consists of a title given to Jesus in OT prophecy and then asks Him to come and fulfill this prophecy.
Which brings us, at last, to the O Antiphon that we’ll be looking at today—O Wisdom. We begin in the vastness of the eternal wisdom of God. This wisdom of God that laid down the plan of salvation from before the beginning of time all the way through to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God incarnate in the flesh.
You see, the Lord Jesus is the wisdom behind all creation—He is the logic behind the world. When asking the big questions, “What is the meaning of life? Why do bad things happen to good people? What happens when we die? Etc.” Jesus is the key because He holds all things together. Without Jesus nothing in this life truly makes any sense. Without Jesus and His Wisdom, life would truly be “meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless” as the writer of Ecclesiastes states.
In this antiphon we are instructed to find our meaning—our life—our truth—in the one who has come. Indeed, we beg for Him to come to us so that we may find our way and our life in Him and in His prudent way. For prudence is wisdom that is practically applied—and so we pray that we may live our lives according to His wisdom as we sojourn on our pilgrimage in this life.
And this will not always be easy. It may be very difficult at times for us to see the wisdom of God at work in this broken and sin-filled world. A world in which we see our loved ones taken by death; where we see people all around us hurting and suffering; where wars, famines, pandemics, and disasters of all kinds wreak untold havoc and destruction upon the earth and her people. Where is the wisdom of God in all of that? Where is He when we need Him most? What could He possibly be thinking by allowing these types of calamities and so many more to take place?
All of these questions, dear friends, find their answers in Christ. Do you want to see the mind of God? Do you want to see what He is thinking? Then look to the cross. Look to the cross and see His only-beloved Son—the one who had no sin, but who became sin for us—hanging there on the cross. Look to His pierced hands, His thorn-encircled brow, His bloodied and beaten body—look to His side from which flows blood and water. Blood and water that He gave to provide us with life everlasting in His presence. Blood and water that we receive for the forgiveness of all our sins in the blessed Sacraments of Baptism and His own Holy Supper whereby He cleanses us, makes us His own, and gives us His love and mercy, personally and individually. Look to the cross of Calvary and there you will find your answers.
For there our Lord God who took on flesh bore the punishment that was rightfully ours. There on the cross our Jesus gave up His life—sacrificed it—fully and freely—so that you and I might have life eternal in His name. There you see a God who does not simply understand your suffering in an abstract manner, but rather you see your God who fully understands your suffering and pain—for He Himself endured it all on the cross. He is wise toward your suffering and He will give you the strength to see you through another day—and another day—until at last He comes again in glory to put an end to all suffering and death—and to usher in His kingdom of life and glory for all eternity.
And He is with you through all things—be they your greatest joys or your greatest sorrows. He is with you always. For the Hand of God who orders all things is the hand of the enfleshed Lord Jesus Christ. The One who was born, died, and rose again in glory. It is His nail-pierced hand that holds the universe together and that holds you close to His side.
And it is through Christ's Baptism, His Word, and His Supper that He comes to you in a very real and tangible manner to reassure you of His continual loving presence. To be sure, this wisdom makes no sense to the world. For how could reading a book, having water poured over you, or eating a tiny wafer and sipping some wine have any real affect on you or for you? What foolishness this seems.
Yet through these means, God in His wisdom, brings about the salvation of the world. A salvation earned and delivered by an equally foolish act—a seemingly pointless and senseless death. Yet through that death of the Son of God—all that was wrong with the universe because of our sin—has been made right once more. Through the death of Christ—WE have been made right with God once more. Each week we gather before this altar, we eat and receive this enfleshed wisdom of God into our mouths for the forgiveness of all our sins and are strengthened in our faith to attain to life everlasting in His holy name. There is no greater wisdom than this humble act. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.
1 Corinthians 1:18-25 O Antiphon for December 17 Hymn #357
The Source of True Wisdom
v. 22-24 “For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greek, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
Antiphon—O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence.
Dear friends in Christ, today marks the day of a new church year—so, Happy New Year! As this day marks the beginning of the season of Advent, we are going to be embarking on a journey through the ancient O Antiphons of Advent as found in our hymnals in conjunction with hymn #357. These antiphons are so old that we don’t know where they come from or who might have written them, but the church has been using them for a very, very long, time.
First of all, however, what exactly is an antiphon, anyway? An antiphon is a little verse or statement that comes before a hymn of praise or canticle or psalm of Scripture, that highlights what the feast or day is all about. They are centred on a theme. These antiphons of Advent are paraphrases of Holy Scripture that express our desire for the Saviour as we await His coming with great expectation. The O Antiphons come from the service of Vespers and frame Mary’s hymn of praise—the Magnificat, coming both before and after her beautiful song of the incarnation. These verses focus us on the incarnate Lord Jesus and walk us through time as we see how God will act in history to save His people.
One may very well say, “This is all fine and dandy, but how relevant can they be for us today?” Well, to answer the question as to whether or not they are relevant is to ask whether or not Jesus is relevant today. And the answer, therefore, is of course, a very big YES!!! Each antiphon consists of a title given to Jesus in OT prophecy and then asks Him to come and fulfill this prophecy.
Which brings us, at last, to the O Antiphon that we’ll be looking at today—O Wisdom. We begin in the vastness of the eternal wisdom of God. This wisdom of God that laid down the plan of salvation from before the beginning of time all the way through to the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, who is the Wisdom of God incarnate in the flesh.
You see, the Lord Jesus is the wisdom behind all creation—He is the logic behind the world. When asking the big questions, “What is the meaning of life? Why do bad things happen to good people? What happens when we die? Etc.” Jesus is the key because He holds all things together. Without Jesus nothing in this life truly makes any sense. Without Jesus and His Wisdom, life would truly be “meaningless, meaningless, utterly meaningless” as the writer of Ecclesiastes states.
In this antiphon we are instructed to find our meaning—our life—our truth—in the one who has come. Indeed, we beg for Him to come to us so that we may find our way and our life in Him and in His prudent way. For prudence is wisdom that is practically applied—and so we pray that we may live our lives according to His wisdom as we sojourn on our pilgrimage in this life.
And this will not always be easy. It may be very difficult at times for us to see the wisdom of God at work in this broken and sin-filled world. A world in which we see our loved ones taken by death; where we see people all around us hurting and suffering; where wars, famines, pandemics, and disasters of all kinds wreak untold havoc and destruction upon the earth and her people. Where is the wisdom of God in all of that? Where is He when we need Him most? What could He possibly be thinking by allowing these types of calamities and so many more to take place?
All of these questions, dear friends, find their answers in Christ. Do you want to see the mind of God? Do you want to see what He is thinking? Then look to the cross. Look to the cross and see His only-beloved Son—the one who had no sin, but who became sin for us—hanging there on the cross. Look to His pierced hands, His thorn-encircled brow, His bloodied and beaten body—look to His side from which flows blood and water. Blood and water that He gave to provide us with life everlasting in His presence. Blood and water that we receive for the forgiveness of all our sins in the blessed Sacraments of Baptism and His own Holy Supper whereby He cleanses us, makes us His own, and gives us His love and mercy, personally and individually. Look to the cross of Calvary and there you will find your answers.
For there our Lord God who took on flesh bore the punishment that was rightfully ours. There on the cross our Jesus gave up His life—sacrificed it—fully and freely—so that you and I might have life eternal in His name. There you see a God who does not simply understand your suffering in an abstract manner, but rather you see your God who fully understands your suffering and pain—for He Himself endured it all on the cross. He is wise toward your suffering and He will give you the strength to see you through another day—and another day—until at last He comes again in glory to put an end to all suffering and death—and to usher in His kingdom of life and glory for all eternity.
And He is with you through all things—be they your greatest joys or your greatest sorrows. He is with you always. For the Hand of God who orders all things is the hand of the enfleshed Lord Jesus Christ. The One who was born, died, and rose again in glory. It is His nail-pierced hand that holds the universe together and that holds you close to His side.
And it is through Christ's Baptism, His Word, and His Supper that He comes to you in a very real and tangible manner to reassure you of His continual loving presence. To be sure, this wisdom makes no sense to the world. For how could reading a book, having water poured over you, or eating a tiny wafer and sipping some wine have any real affect on you or for you? What foolishness this seems.
Yet through these means, God in His wisdom, brings about the salvation of the world. A salvation earned and delivered by an equally foolish act—a seemingly pointless and senseless death. Yet through that death of the Son of God—all that was wrong with the universe because of our sin—has been made right once more. Through the death of Christ—WE have been made right with God once more. Each week we gather before this altar, we eat and receive this enfleshed wisdom of God into our mouths for the forgiveness of all our sins and are strengthened in our faith to attain to life everlasting in His holy name. There is no greater wisdom than this humble act. Thanks be to God in Christ Jesus. Amen.