I have really come to appreciate the “O Antiphons” in recent seasons of Advent. If you think you don’t know what those are, you might be surprised to know that you’ve probably sung them regularly during Advent: they are the basis for the verses of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” arguably the most popular song at Mass this liturgical season. The “O Antiphons” use the imagery used to express the Messianic hopes of the Old Testament to point to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of those hopes (and in doing so, the fulfillment of our present hopes). 

Today’s “O Antiphon” speaks especially to the Old Testament concept of the law:

O Leader of the House of Israel,

giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai:

come to rescue us with your mighty power!

Although I prefer the “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” version:

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

The law is an important concept in the Bible, and we see that displayed in the first reading and psalm, where wise governance fosters peace and justice. Later, in the Gospel of Matthew, where the Judaic law is juxtaposed consistently with the law of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. In today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Joseph finds out that Mary is with child, and under the law has every right to cast her aside for the scandal she has caused by pregnancy outside of marriage. However, as a just man, he plans to divorce her quietly, so as not to expose her to shame. 

The question that comes to my mind where the “O Antiphon” and the readings intersect is this: Are the rules we set forth - whether governing our institutions, our cities, our worship communities, or even our own families - oriented toward the greater good, or are they for the sake of ego or power or control? Do the choices we make to govern and manage our lives exist for the purpose of “justice flourishing and fullness of peace,” as the Psalmist celebrates today?