Today is the second day of the "O Antiphons," a tradition of the church dating back several centuries. During the final seven days of Advent, we proclaim different images from the Old Testament that we Christians use to think more deeply about who Jesus is. We are most familiar with the O Antiphons from the hymn "O Come, O Come Emmanuel." "O Emmanuel" is one of the O Antiphons.

 

Today's O Antiphon proclaims that Jesus is the Lord of Might. Today's Old Testament passage (Jeremiah 23:5-8) states this clearly: "As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: 'The LORD our justice.'"

 

The Lord of Might brings peace, justice, and security. In these present days of ours, we are well-acquainted, I think, with the desire for peace, justice and security. We live in troubled times, when the civil war in Syria spills over to affect the whole planet, when wartime activity is still occurring in Afghanistan and Iraq, when both homegrown and foreign terror attacks occur with frightening frequency. 

 

That is why it is worth attending even more closely to how God overturns our expectations of what peace, justice and security really mean. Advent and Christmas both ask us to confront the fact that God does not come with swords drawn, guns blazing. God, instead, comes to us via the virgin who is with child - so scandalous a thing that her future husband-to-be plans to divorce her quietly (Matthew 1:18-25). God comes to us as a tiny helpless child who needs the protection of a man who is not the baby's father.

 

Aren't we a bit like Joseph? Aren't we put into Joseph's position of having to accept, by faith, the angel's command "Don't be afraid!" Don't be afraid to take Mary into your home; don't be afraid to see, in the face of a baby, God's salvation - even though the world will laugh? Don't be afraid to seek justice for refugees, to see the face of God in the unexpected ones that God sends - because that is who God is. Don't be afraid to accept, on faith - and even in times when the opposite seems to be occurring - that God is good and acts in true peace, justice, and security, but not at all in the way the world would see those things. 

 

As we move into the final days of Advent, let us pray for the grace to see the world as God calls Joseph to see it: full of unexpected, vulnerable people needing our love, care, and protection - even when that love might seem scandalous.

 

- Jana M. Bennett