GOOD SHEPHERD LUTHERAN CHURCH Gaithersburg, Maryland Isaiah’s Visions of the Messiah Isaiah 7: 16; 9:6-7. – “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” (ELW 257) The Second of Five Sessions The Second Sunday in Advent - December 6, 2020 I. Prophecy From Isaiah Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman1 is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’, which means, ‘God is with us.’ Saint Matthew 1:22-23 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his The Second Sunday in Advent, name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty 2020 God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace, there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6 - 7 (AKJV) I. Three Familiar Texts We have surely heard these texts before. Most of us can share them from memory not because we know Isaiah and Matthew so well, but because they have been shared from childhood with the Christmas Story. Whether that story was in Isaiah’s mind in the 8th or seventh centuries before the birth of our Lord, they are clearly in our minds as prophecies of our Lord’s coming when we read them today.2 The quotation from Saint Matthew is shared as a parallel to the Isaiah text to 1. “A Young Woman”: Scholars believe that this is the preferred translation of this Hebrew text. However, of the several possible translations, “virgin” is acceptable as well, but considered the last of the choices. 2, We spoke of possible meanings of these texts in the time of Isaiah in the last session. Isaiah - Messianic Prophecies Session 2 Rev 4 Pdf. Page 1 indicate that the early Christians and Evangelists read Isaiah as a Messianic prophet.3 They skillfully wove Isaiah, as well as other Old Testament texts, into the First Century nativity story. And followers of our Lord have been telling this story ever since. Today’s Advent hymn does the same thing, also with skill. II. Let’s Begin with the Tune Is sounds ancient, and it is, but maybe not quite as “ancient” as we might have thought. It’s history begins for us in the 14th century CE, though its origins as to composer and such, are unknown. The tune’s name; VENI, EMMANUEL Because this hymn text is of a rather standard meter, it can, and has been mated with several popular hymn tunes. In fact, the hymn in either its Latin or English texts has been associated successfully with a number of tunes. That said, speaking at least for the English- speaking world, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” is associated with one tune almost exclusively, so much so that the tune itself in named Veni Emmanuel. It is said that this tune was first linked with the hymn in 1851. The tune was listed as being “from a French Missal in the National Library of Lisbon.”4 The mystery was somewhat clarified in 1966 by a British musicologist, Mary Barry, who is also an Augustinian Canoness and a noted choral conductor. She discovered a 15th century manuscript containing the melody of Veni Emmanuel in the National Library of France. Mary Barry, writing under her religious title of Mother Thomas More suggests that there may yet be evidence of an earlier origin for Veni Emmanuel. Thus far, it has not been found. Incidentally, this earliest manuscript was found among a booklet of Advent Funeral Processions. III. The Root of the Text “The O Antiphons” It is believed that the text of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, in all of its variations and in both its Latin and English texts intends to be a paraphrase of the “O Antiphons.” The “O Antiphons” otherwise known as the “Great O’s” are the magnificent antiphons used at the Vespers of the last seven days of Advent in Western Christian tradition. They are also used, instead of the Alleluia verses on the same days in the post 1970 Catholic 3. The Isaiah tests at the top of this paper may have referred to King Hezekiah, or even King Josiah. The tests would have been appropriate to either of these kings. They were righteous and just kings. 4. Hymnal Noted, parts I & 2, (New York:Novello), 1851. Isaiah - Messianic Prophecies Session 2 Rev 4 Pdf. Page 2 Mass, with some variances. They are called the “O Antiphons” because each “O”, sometimes called a “vocational participle,” calls forth a name or title of Christ, or one of his attributes mentioned in the Scriptures. Today’s hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” carefully lifts for us in song the spiritual names, gifts, and attributes of our Lord. They “count down” to Christmas Eve. To wit: 17 December O Sapientia (O Wisdom) 18 December O Adonai (O Lord) 19 December O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse) 20 December O Clavis David (O Key of David) 21 December O Oriens (O Dayspring) 22 December O Rex Gentium (O King of Nations) 23 December O Emmanuel (O God With Us) These antiphons are used throughout much of what we call the Western Church, including the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican and Episcopal Churches, the Lutheran Churches, and The Presbyterian Church (USA). They are included as a litany in The Book of Common Worship published by the Presbyterian Church (USA). They can be read as a praise litany at Morning or Evening Prayer.5 It is said that the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a lyrical paraphrase of the “O Antiphons,” which it is. One can sense this movingly, if with ELW in hand, one reads the antiphons and the associated stanzas of the hymn. So, what do we know about the origins of the “O Antiphons”? Like the popular tune of our English hymn, the origin is not altogether known, though it is greatly loved. Boethius6 makes a passing reference to them which suggests that they were present in the 6th Century CE. At the Benedictine Fleury Abbey, the” O Antiphons”op. Sit were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders. By the 8th century they were a part of the liturgical celebrations in Rome. It is altogether possible that they have been in use since the very early Church.7 5, https://en.n.wikipedia.org/wiki/ O_Antiphons. Pp.1-3. 6. Aniclus Manlius Severinus Boeethius – (477-534) is a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His works are said to be online today. 7. Op. Cit. “O Antiphons”.:. Isaiah - Messianic Prophecies Session 2 Rev 4 Pdf. Page 3 It is not without truth that when we sing this hymn we are embracing an ancient Christian tradition, and that tradition is rooted squarely in the prophecies of the Prophet Isaiah, as we shall demonstrate in the next section of this paper, as we review the stanzas of “O Come, O Come, Emanuel.” We shall use the text of Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymn 257.8 IV. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” ELW 257 There are seven Antiphons and eight stanzas to the hymn as we have it in our ELW hymnal. In ELW, the eighth stanza is the same as the first, perhaps a summary to be sung on at Morning Prayer on Christmas Eve, December 24. The hymn, as are the Antiphons, is based solidly upon Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah. We shall pause at each stanza and quote the appropriate texts. STANZA ONE – Emmanuel O Come, O Come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appears. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel. Isaiah has prophesied: Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman9 is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 STANZA TWO – Wisdom O Come, O Wisdom from on high, Embracing all things far and nigh: In Strength and beauty come and stay, Teach us your will and guide our way. Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! . 8. The hymn attached to Page 9 of ths paper is mostly from the translation of Thomas Nelson Neale. Neale’s translation is from Latin into English and provides us five stanzas. Two stanzas in the ELW are by Henry Sloan Coffin. These two stanzas first appeared in the Hymnal 1940 of the Episcopal Church, USA. This is mostly followed in the ELW. 9. “A Young Woman”: Scholars believe that this is the preferred translation of this Hebrew text. However, of the several possible translations, “virgin” is acceptable as well, but considered the last of the choices. Isaiah - Messianic Prophecies Session 2 Rev 4 Pdf. Page 4 Isaiah has prophesied: The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; Isaiah 11:2-3 This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom.