The O Antiphons: O Root of Jesse

December 19, 2017 | Reflections From Sr Mary

Ding, dong, ding… the third Advent bell will soon proclaim…

O Root of Jesse,
Given to the peoples as a sign,
Before whom kings shall be silent,
Whom the nations shall seek:
Come to save us and delay no longer.

O Root of Jesse, come and save us and delay no longer.

Throughout this day, our candle has burned brightly directing our thoughts and prayers to the Rohingya people, God’s beloved whom nobody wants, uprooted and driven from their homeland, their villages destroyed, their men killed, their women raped, their children left crying, traumatised and afraid. In the midst of this genocide, it must be nigh impossible for those left languishing in the camps on the Bangledesh border to hold out any green shoot of hope and yet, that is the promise of our God in the O Antiphon tonight: that a root of Jesse, a tender branch of hope and truth with roots strong enough to deal with all the trauma of the world, will spring up. Advent is the time to cultivate our attentiveness to this shoot called hope, to believe in it, water it, nurture it, for ourselves and for others.

Let us BE the hope for the Rohingya tonight. Let us HOLD the green shoots of new life for them. And let us PRAY that out of this unspeakable tragedy, God will come to save through the hands of others offering aid, medicine, friendship, understanding, shelter, kindness, acceptance…hope.

O Root of Jesse,
Given to the peoples as a sign,
Before whom kings shall be silent,
Whom the nations shall seek:
Come to save us and delay no longer.