O Lord and Giver of the Law on Sinai, the Leader of your chosen people Israel, appearing in the burning bush, revealed to Moses face to face, O Come, stretch out your mighty arms to set us free.
Great Antiphon of Advent
This Antiphon harkens back to Moses on Sinai receiving the Law from God. But God did not only give Moses the law God revealed his name, “I am.” God is the God of covenant and the Leader of the people. We use the same names for Jesus strong in the belief that Christ has always been divine and has been with God since the Beginning.
In the writing of the Prophet Isaiah we read, “but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.” (Isaiah 11:4-5) Like yesterday’s Antiphon todays reminds us that God will judge people by what is in their hearts.
God sent his Son to us out of a radical sense of love for creation. Jesus, in turn left us an example a way of love for all of humanity.
“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our ruler, the Lord is our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22) Our God is a God of Incarnation and as he revealed himself as lawgiver to Moses on Sinai in the Burning Bush, Christ comes to reveal himself as a God of love.
O Come, stretch out your mighty arms to set us free.
