In this post, Thomas Smith reflects upon the O Antiphon “O Lord” from the December 18 daily Mass. You can find his other reflections on the O Anthiphons leading up to Christmas here.
Read
(This can also be sung to the melody “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”)
O come, O come, thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times didst give the law
in cloud and majesty, and awe.
Refrain:
Rejoice, Rejoice! Emmanuel
shall come to thee, O Israel
Reflect
We turn again to Isaiah, who speaks of the righteous reign of the Root of Jesse (Isaiah 11:4-5) and how the Lord will be for us a judge, a ruler, a king and a savior (Isaiah 33:21-22).
The Lordship of Jesus is united intimately with being God’s chosen Messiah. St. Peter proclaimed on Pentecost:
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36).
In fact, the Feast of Pentecost (the Jewish Feast of Shavuot) was the perfect place for St. Peter to make this connection, since it was a celebration of the giving of the Law on Sinai, when the people of Israel accepted the Lord as their God. As Lord, Jesus has sent his Spirit to write a new law, not upon tablets of stone, but on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-32; Ezekiel 36:26).
For most of us, the Lordship of Jesus can remain a bit of an abstraction. While it means many glorious things, at its most basic level it means directing our hearts, affections, attentions, and energies to him. It means seeking first his kingdom above all else (Matthew 6:33). It means daily, and sometimes moment by moment, enthroning Christ firmly and faithfully on the throne of our hearts, uniting our will with his will.
St. Peter will continue in that verse to remind us that If Christ is truly our Lord, we will willingly and joyfully share our king and his kingdom with others. This season especially, we can offer the world a counter sign to the avarice and consumerism, the endless purchasing and parties that characterize our culture:
“For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17).
Respond
Take a clear-eyed “throne check” of your heart. If you find yourself there, crowned and robed, consider “re-enthroning” Christ. If he is not Lord of all, he is not your Lord at all. Most of our misery in life comes when we attempt to rule ourselves and others, after having removed Jesus from his rightful place. What are some concrete ways you can manifest his kingdom of peace, joy, and the Holy Spirit in the conversations and tasks of today?
Rest
Let us rest in the Lordship of Christ today. Rest in the knowledge that no matter how disordered our world, desks or kitchens appear, God in Christ is on the throne. He is guiding human history and the smallest details of our life. In your heart declare, “Not my will, Lord, but thine be done.”
Return
Tomorrow, December 19, we will reflect on the next O Antiphon, O Root of Jesse. Make sure you return to the Ascension Blog tomorrow if you want to read the reflection on the proper day.
The reflection for the first title in the O Antiphon Series, O Wisdom, can be found here.
This post was published on The Great Adventure Blog on December 18, 2013 and modified on December 14, 2018.
You May Also Like:
‘O Wisdom!’ – First Day of the O Antiphon Series
The O Antiphons Explained: A Daily Series Leading to Christmas
Fourth Sunday of Advent
Rejoice: Advent Meditations with Mary
About Thomas Smith
Thomas Smith is the co-author of Wisdom: God’s Vision for Life, Revelation: The Kingdom Yet to Come and The Prophets: Messengers of God’s Mercy. He is an international presenter for The Great Adventure Bible Timeline. Bringing a wealth of experience and insight on the Word of God to audiences across the U.S., Thomas is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic radio as well as a sought after parish mission and conference speaker. Thomas Smith has taught as an adjunct professor at the St. Francis School of Theology in Denver, and is the former Director of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School. He lives on his family ranch in southeastern Idaho and writes for his website www.gen215.org.
Rightfully said Thomas. This is not something new but have known this for awhile; the difficult task is allowing Him to have Lordship over every area of our life – our will, emotions, body, Spirit every moment of our life. Believe me it’s not easy and requires on our part to deny ourself daily to accept His Lordship. Thanks & God Bless!
thank you Thomas Smith for starting out my day on the right foot! During the day I have many oppoutunites in my words and tasks with others to show joy and peace to others and I will be especially mindful of this today!
Good morning all. I’m glad these reflections are a blessing. There should be a scripture reference at the end of the sentence “It means daily, and sometimes moment by moment, enthroning Christ firmly and faithfully on the throne of our hearts, uniting our will with His will” (1 Peter 3:15), for the next sentence to really make sense. Blessings!
Thank you! Indeed, the REST portion is what I will claim as my goal today, to rest my entire being on God’s BEING, which is Jesus, the Incarnate Word of God. Be The Lord of my life Jesus, I abandon everything to You!
In many of past lessons bible references were links to verses, wonderful when doing these on the fly and no bible available. Thanks for making these lessons available.
Thanks Ann, have a blessed day!
Yes, the moment-by-moment enthroning of Christ is a need in my life these days. I allow Him to be pushed aside by the loves of lessor things. Thanks for this reminder. Peace.
It’s a challenge for us all! Blessings to you.
Thank you for the acute observation of me crowned and robed’ as a dignitary. I need to remember that Jesus, Our Savior is the essence of the world and without Him, we are nothing. My daily prayer should be what you mentioned in the ‘Rest’ portion of this study, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
That REST prayer may be one of the most important petitions we ever make…again and again. Bowie Kuhn taught me another simple one that I pray many times during the day, “I love you Lord, help me to love you more.”