O King of Nations, Come! Advent Daybook 25
This week we are adoring Jesus by praying the prophetic names of the O Antiphons.
O REX GENTIUM (KING OF THE NATIONS )
Pray: O King of all the nations, the only joy of every human heart; O Keystone of the mighty arch of man: Come and save the creature you fashioned from the dust.
Look: Journey of the Magi, James Tissot -Source
Listen: Advent Antiphons: No. 6. O Rex gentium, Queens' College Choir, Cambridge - Spotify | YouTube
Latin:
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
English:
O King of the nations, and their desire,
the cornerstone making both one:
Come and save the human race,
which you fashioned from clay.
Read:
A Reading from Jeremiah 10:6-7
There is none like thee, O Lord; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? For this is thy due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like thee.
A Reading from Haggai 2:6-9
For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Once again, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land; and I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with splendor,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘ The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘ The latter splendor of this house shall be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts; ‘and in this place I will give prosperity,’ says the Lord of hosts.
A Reading from Isaiah 2:2-4
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
A Reading from Ephesians 2:19-22
So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
Read Malcolm Guite's sonnet and then sing the sixth verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel as today's prayer.
O King of our desire whom we despise,
King of the nations never on the throne,
Unfound foundation, cast-off cornerstone,
Rejected joiner, making many one,
You have no form or beauty for our eyes,
A King who comes to give away his crown,
A King within our rags of flesh and bone.
We pierce the flesh that pierces our disguise,
For we ourselves are found in you alone.
Come to us now and find in us your throne,
O King within the child within the clay,
O hidden King who shapes us in the play
Of all creation. Shape us for the day
Your coming Kingdom comes into its own.
Sing:
O come, Desire of nations, bind
All peoples in one heart and mind;
Bid envy, strife and quarrels cease;
Fill the whole world with heaven’s peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Do: Nothing. Spend at least 15 minutes sitting in silence. Don’t try to make anything happen during the time. Just be.
Make space for silence, without any noise or distraction, to pause and calmly think about the weeks of Advent. There's no need to strive for a profound insight during this time. Just be still.
If you begin to sense thoughts or feelings bubbling up in the quiet, notice them without trying to analyze. You might breathe out one phrase each time you're tempted to become distracted. Try something like "O come, Emmanuel" or even, "Prince of Peace". Trust God as your Heavenly Father to be present with you through Christ and by His Spirit. End your time with a simple prayer or chorus. Go about your day in peace.
Turning the Corner into Christmas
I’ve so enjoyed the past few weeks contemplating with you the mercy and marvel of the advent of Emmanuel. Every year I battle a sense of futility - that this quiet space is meaningless in the midst of our sometimes frenetic need to get to the cozy, chaotic celebration part of Christmas. Every year the Holy Spirit meets me again in the ancient, sober texts of the prophets and the fierce hope of the people of God. I want to be a woman of fierce hope and to embrace every spark and glimmer of light that comes down from the Father in word, practice, prayer, and beauty. I want to consume this light until it radiates from the inside out to help push back the darkness in this weary world.
Every year God meets me through you. I ponder your stories of hearing the voice of the once and coming- again King and receive them as gifts just as plain as the ones beginning to accumulate under our Christmas tree. That even one other person knows the God of Christ more nearly and dearly this year because of this holy compulsion of mine to sift through each Scripture and song and prayer is the greatest gift. Thank you for walking the Advent road along with me.
We are turning a corner friends. I often daydream that before I publish the final Advent post (just as I do when I'm writing the Lent Daybook posts) I'll hear a trumpet and see Christ descending from the sky, returning to once and for all make all things new.
If this does not happen before Christmas Day, we are given the responsibility to celebrate as if He did. This is no postscript to Advent; this is the Main Event! It's time to pull out the stops, and take on the holy calling of Feasting!
WILL YOU JOIN ME FOR ALL 12 DAYS?
“And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well...”
Over the past decade, I've written a couple of posts about how our family has learned, failed and learned again how to keep Christmas well.
Family Liturgies For Christmas & My Mama's Rule For Feasting
Christmas Confessions From An Exhausted Dad {Brian's guest post}
Playlists for Christmastide!
Christmas Eve (for my Momma) : If you’d like more playlist goodness for the coming weeks, I offer you the quirky, sometimes kitschy, a little bit emo, and often melancholy playlist I made when we lived so far away from my parents. Now we live far away from other people we love, but the title of the playlist will remain in honor of those first homesick years.
Ring the Bells.: A bit more traditional playlist (but still highlighting the lesser-known music of the season).
12 Days of Christmas: A playlist for a festive and full Christmastide!
For these last days of Advent, may we know with assurance that He has come, He is coming, and He will come again!
Hallelujah!
p.s., I would love to hear about your own Advent journey! How has it been for you? Please feel free to drop me a comment below or send me a note.
p.p.s., Here’s a little early Christmas gift for you from me. (and especially for my Mom who loves this song so much.)