Jesus, the Wisdom of God: An “O Antiphon”
I got the low score Sunday, and it wasn’t at golf. It was a baby shower game in which I correctly matched 2/25 celebrity babies. I hadn’t even heard of 15/25. I am not pop-culture wise.
Which brings me to “O Wisdom” — a lesser known title for Christ.
Then I Met the “O Antiphons”
Do you know the “O Antiphons”? I just met them—all seven of them–last week in a Breakpoint podcast.
They stirred my Advent devotion, so I’d like to introduce you.
The “O Antiphons” are an Advent practice that goes back at least to the eighth century and possibly to the beginning of the 6th century. An antiphon is a short response recited or sung during a church service. The O Antiphons are recited…each night in the week leading up to Christmas.
They are called the O Antiphons because each begins with “O,” followed by a name for the Messiah drawn from the book of Isaiah and supplemented with other Scriptures.
The O Antiphons are an acrostic. Taking the first letter of each of the names of the Messiah in the antiphons in order, and then read backwards, forms the Latin words ero cras, which means “tomorrow, I will be [there].” Since the last antiphon is recited on Christmas Eve, the acrostic is a clever and subtle way of signaling the end of Advent and the arrival of the One predicted by Isaiah…
Isn’t that cool? Even if you don’t geek out about it like I did, you might like to know that these short, sweet antiphons are the basis for the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.”
Here’s the “O Wisdom” (“O Sapienta” in Latin) antiphon, and verse:
The O Wisdom—or, in Latin, O Sapienta—antiphon reads: O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!
Which does sound an awful lot like that verse from the ancient carol:
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
and order all things mightily
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go.
I’ve been chasing down the Wisdom of God in the Word of God, in the incarnate Jesus Christ. It’s been such a feast I couldn’t keep it to myself. So I’ll set the table now with gleanings. I hope they whet your appetite for the feast of Christmas and help you worship Jesus, the incarnate Wisdom of God.
Prophet Foretold:
Isaiah 11:2a— And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding…
Child of Wisdom:
Luke 2:40— And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
Luke 2:46-47—After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
Jesus, the Wisdom of God:
Luke 11:49—Therefore the wisdom of God (probably Jesus referring to himself!) said, “I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute.”
Matthew 12:42— The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.
Solomon was wise. But Jesus was wisdom—the very wisdom of God.
Proverbs 8:30-31— When he marked out the foundations of the earth,
then I was beside him, like a master workman,
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the children of man…
(Not so sure about this one? This short article explains how Proverbs 8 reveals God the Son as the Wisdom of the Father, the pattern and end goal of creation.)
1 Corinthians 1:24—To those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
1 Corinthians 1:30a— And from him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God…
Jesus, The Wisdom From Above:
James 3:17— But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
In John 8:23, Jesus said, “I am from above.” In Luke 7:35, Jesus said “wisdom is proved right by all her children.” Will you pause a minute a ponder with me? Will you think of how Jesus was pure, a spotless lamb of God? And how he was peaceable? He is, after all, our peace. And he was so gentle and meek.
Chase the others. How was Jesus open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere? Because he was. He is. He forever will be.
This was a wondrous thought for me this first week of Advent:
Jesus is God’s wisdom from above come down to earth.
God’s wisdom is not an impersonal force, but appeared fully in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God. Jesus who saves us from our sins.
Jesus, the truest celebrity baby, who has no cute photo to match.
Jesus, who we will one day see face to face.
Jesus, the Wisdom of God, our joyful hope in these long, last days.
Maranatha.
P.S. — I’m excited and thankful to share that the meek message is featured in “Up Club,” The Ridiculous Hour’s December feature. You can read about my (ongoing) meek makeover and find out who’s in my Up Club on The Ridiculous Hour podcast. (Hint: If you’ve read this far, you probably are.)
