O Antiphons

Earlier this evening, we attended the Advent Lessons & Carols on UVA campus, and I marked this prayer in the program because it seemed a little different than any I have heard before:

“Let us remember . . . all those who rejoice with us,
but upon another shore and in a greater light,
that multitude which no one can number . . . ”
The service included not only the classic O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (as popularly sung by Peter, Paul & Mary and so many others) but also this haunting, beautiful version with medieval lyrics, set to contemporary music by Joanna Forbes L'Estrange (b 1971):

Advent "O" Carol

O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
We long for your coming, O Wisdom;
We long for your coming, O Lord;
Come and teach us the way of understanding;
You are the living word.

O Adonai (O Lord and Ruler)
We long for you, O Lord and Ruler;
We long for your coming, O Lord.
Come and stretch out your arms and redeem us;
You are the living word.

O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
We long for you, O Root of Jesse;
We long for your coming, O Lord.
Come to deliver us, and do not tarry;
You are the living word.

O Clavis David (O Key of David)
We long for you, O Key of David;
We long for your coming, O Lord.
Come and bring forth the captive from his prison;
Who sits in the shadow of death.

O Oriens (O Dawn of the East)
We long for you, O Dawn of the East;
We long for your coming, O Lord.
Come and lighten those who sit in darkness;
And in the shadow of death.

O Rex Gentium (O King of the Gentiles)
We long for you, O King of the Gentiles;
We long for your coming, O Lord.
Come and deliver man whom you formed
Out of the dust of the earth.

O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel)
O Emmanuel! When will you come?
Come to save us, O Lord our God.

O ero cras. [as in procrastinate]
Tomorrow I will come.

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Each verse begins with an antiphon, naming a title or attribute of the Messiah:

O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
O Adonai (O Lord)
O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
O Clavis David (O Key of David)
O Oriens (O Dayspring)
O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
O Emmanuel (O With Us is God)

To understand the brief final stanza, look at the first letters of each title, in reverse order: E mmanuel, R ex, O riens, C lavis, R adix, A donai, S apientia: ERO CRAS -- a Latin phrase translating approximately "Tomorrow, I will be [there]" or “I will be present tomorrow.” Tomorrow I will come.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.
Some actual time?
Or, as Kafka surmises,
some fabulous yonder?
Not forgetting the Prophet's caution
that we cannot visit the house of tomorrow,
not even in our dreams.
I can't help thinking of Dorothy Parker's remark in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, when she is coming out from under anesthesia and almost hears the voice of God:

"But I can't understand what God is saying,
because he's got a mask over his face.
Isn't that just like Him?"

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O? So the Messiah will be coming tomorrow?

Isn't that just like Him?

“The messiah will come only when he is no longer necessary;
he will come only on the day after his arrival;
he will come, not on the last day, but on the very last.”

~ Franz Kafka ~