Daily Catholic Lectio. Mon, 23 December ’24. O Emmanuel, Come!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Mon, 23 December ‘24

Advent Weekdays

Malachi 3:1-4, 4:5-6. Luke 1:57-66

O Emmanuel, Come!

The seventh ‘O Antiphon’ is ‘O Emmanuel, come!’. ‘Emmanuel’ means ‘God is with us.’ In the Old Testament God gives the sign of ‘Immanuel’ to King Ahaz through Isaiah (cf. Isa 7:14). In the New Testament, Matthew records that the prophecy is fulfilled in the announcement of Jesus’ birth to Joseph (cf. 1:23).

The first reading is from the Prophet Malachi, the last book of the Hebrew Bible. The text foretells about the Messiah and the forerunner of the Messiah. Malachi announces, “the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”. The prophecy is fulfilled in the event of Jesus being offered in the Temple (cf. Lk 2:22). John the Baptist is announced as the Elijah: “and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children” (cf. Lk 1:17).

In the gospel reading we read about the birth and the naming of John the Baptist. When Zechariah writes ‘his name is John’ his mouth is opened. The people of the neighbourhood exclaim, “what then will this child be?” (cf. Lk 1:66).

What is the meaning of the antiphon ‘O Emmanuel’ in the light of the readings of the day?

(a) God brings all his words to fulfilment. His deeds come to perfection in his own time.

(b) At the birth of John the Baptist the neighbourhood rejoices. This joy is the foretaste of the joy that the Messiah would bring.

(c) ‘Emmanuel’ means ‘God with us.’ This message gives us consolation and hope. However, at times we are beset with certain aberrations that surround this message. When we are in despair we feel ‘God is not with us;’ when we don’t have faith in God we say, ‘God cannot be with us;’ when we want to have our own freedom we say, ‘God need not be with us.’ Above all, ‘God is with us only’ leads us to fundamentalism.

Let our prayer be:

‘O Emmanuel (Isa 7:14; 8:8; Lk 1:31-33), our King and Lawgiver (Gen 49:10; cf. Eze 21:32), the Expected of the nations and their Saviour (Isa 33:22). *Come, and save us, O Lord our God.

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy