You can hear the antiphon sung in Latin here:
And in English here:
(They do a very nice job of it, but unlike virtually all versions of these antiphons, they do not
observe the flat in the second line of the music.)
Link to English version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJIrCbT3HYM
Link to Latin version https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GvDvgfLoUo
O King of the nations and their desire, the cornerstone making both one: Come and save the
human race which you fashioned from clay.
O King of the nations (Jeremiah 10:7)
And their desire (Haggai 2:8, following the Vulgate translation)
The cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16)
Making both one (Ephesians 2:14)
The human race fashioned from clay (Genesis 2:7)
In the gospel according to Matthew there are mentions of worship from beginning to end.
When the magi reach the end of their long journey, they bow down and worship the Christ
child. At the very end of the gospel the risen Christ appears to his disciples (28:17) and they too
prostrate themselves in worship (though the evangelist comments that “some doubted”). We
might be inclined to think that Jesus becomes King in his passion and resurrection – the placard
Pilate sets over Jesus’ head declaring the truth though Pilate intended it as mockery (Matthew
28:37). Not so, says Matthew. This one has always been king. This is the king whose image is
borne by all people.
Like all the O antiphons, this one proclaims Christ by another of his titles. But this one tells us
about ourselves as well. The last line evokes the story of our creation in Genesis 2 as God
breathes life into the clay creature. Right from the outset it is clear that we exist because God in
love desires that we exist. We are created in order to share the life of God. Many of the great
teachers of the Church have understood this to mean that the Incarnation would have taken
place even if the human race had not fallen into sin. That is, God’s taking flesh is not just a
rescue operation for a plan that went badly awry, but the action of eternal love that desires full
communion with its creatures. “God became a human being so that human beings could
become God” say the early Fathers boldly.
This king is the cornerstone who unites opposing nations. In his Christmas homily in 450, Leo
the Great, bishop of Rome preached:
Indeed, the broad scope of Christian grace has given us greater reasons for loving our
neighbour. It extends to every part of the whole earth, despairing of no one and
teaching that no one must be left out.
I’m not always sure how closely bound I am to “the nations” or indeed to any who are suffering.
Most of the time my concern for all humankind doesn’t get too far past the humans who are my
kind. There is a big difference between the compassion that rises up in me when I encounter
suffering directly and the second-hand encounters through television, internet, or other media.
As often as not, the second-hand variety tends to result in inertia more than in action. Praying
this antiphon may therefore be a risky business. God may grant me to be bound more closely to
others who are suffering in order that I may learn to serve them and the king in whose image
they are made.
Kevin+
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