The “Great O” antiphon for December 18 is “O Lord.”
(See an explanation of the Great O’s in the blog post for December 16.)
From Exodus 3: 1 – 6:
Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed. Then Moses said, ‘I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.’ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.’ He said further, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
LORD who appeared to Moses in the burning bush — oh the blaze of the sun as it slips beneath the horizon; we are surrounded with blazing bushes — trees lit by sunset red! How awesome! Take off your shoes, for you are standing on holy ground! This is the holy ground of encounter — this world of ours. Here in this place God has chosen to be at home. Now, right here, in this place. Holy ground. And this place is wherever each day I find myself, in whatever circumstances and situations. Burning bushes of God surround us every day in people, places, things. They are found where we least expect them: in poverty, in the eyes of children, in suffering, in the graceful encounter of lovers, in the cry of a child, in the dry desert places and bleakness, in the dew on a spider’s web, in the smile of a tiny baby. Truly God’s voice speaks to us in the burning bushes of the entire world. Yes, O Lord, the sacred, saving Gospel name of God, come with passion and saving love to empower us as a shalom community of faith in the work of liberation and peace. (Sr. Doreen McGuff)
From “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”:
O come, O come great Lord of might.
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times once gave the law,
in cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice, Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel.
