“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a Christmas carol that originate from our great “cloud of witnesses.” The hymn dates to the ninth century or earlier when monks chanted the Great Antiphons or O Antiphons in evening vespers during Advent to prepare for Christ’s coming. Each of the seven chants contains a different title for Jesus. The chants were later formatted into a seventeenth century Latin hymn, coupled with a fifteenth century tune. The hymn was discovered, translated into English and published by John Mason Neale, an Anglican minister, in 1851 as the Advent carol, we know today. The first Latin letter in the various antiphons in reverse (E-R-O-C-R-A-S) translates as “I will be present tomorrow,” which matches the theme of Christ’s coming. Such acrostics were popular with medieval writers and often employed as literary devices to help monks remember the order. These seven antiphons were customarily sung and recited December 17-23 to recall Christ’s first coming and to prepare for his return.
For the next seven days, in keeping with this ancient tradition, we will focus on the various titles for Jesus from these seven antiphons. The word “antiphon” refers to a psalm, verse, or anthem sung in a call-and-response fashion in worship. Each antiphon is comprised of four parts: 1. an “O” vocative article to introduce the antiphon, 2. a title for Jesus, 3. an elaboration on the title, and 4. a sentence prayer. The first title for Jesus, O Wisdom, draws upon the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs). The fundamental question Wisdom Literature addresses is where we can find wisdom (Job 28.12, 20). The question is answered throughout the five Wisdom books—”The fear (meaning reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1.7; Job 28.28; Eccl. 12.13). In Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah, we are told, “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding” (Is. 11.2). Paul wrote to Christians in Corinth that Christ is the very embodiment of God’s power and wisdom (1 Cor. 1.24, 30). He is wisdom par excellence! Come, O Wisdom. We join with Christians from twelve hundred years ago in seeking Christ’s wisdom as we pray the words of the first antiphon: