Today’s O Antiphon is O Adonai (Sacred Lord).
O Sacred Lord of ancient Israel, who showed yourself to Moses in the burning bush, who gave him the holy law on Sinai mountain, Come, stretch out your mighty hand to set us free!
God revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. Do you think that was something Moses expected? Do you think Moses had some pre-conceived notion of what God “looked like?” I would venture to guess that Moses never imagined encountering God the way he did, yet he was confident that God was present in the burning bush, he was acutely aware of God’s outstretched hand and was obedient to it. As a result, he was able to receive and act on God’s message, which led to freedom from bondage.
How do you think God is revealing Himself to you today? Are you aware of His presence, His protective outstretched hand? Are you obedient to His call? Do you listen to His voice even when it seems to contradict your thoughts and desires? Most of the time God reveals himself to us in subtle ways, in ways that could be easily missed if we allow ourselves to be distracted. So what is it we need to be freed from? Obviously, we’re not enslaved as the Israelites were in Moses’ time – the need to be set free takes on a whole new meaning for us today. Metaphorically speaking, we are “enslaved” by worry, fear, anxiety, sin and worldly desires, just to name a few. These are the things we need to be set free from. The road to freedom begins when, like Moses, we are aware of God’s presence, when we are aware of how He reveals Himself to us even in the most subtle of ways – the road ends with our obedience.
On that note, I’d like to share a personal story. I woke up one Friday morning to the sound of the alarm at 3:25 am. I lay in bed for a bit and prayed. I thanked God for the past week – for bringing us to the end of another week, truly blessed, healthy and safe from all evil and harm. Particularly, I thanked Him for protecting my husband and bringing him home safely everyday. As I prayed I realized “actually, the week is not really over, we still have today to contend with” so I continued my prayer “Lord protect my husband today as well, be with him in his travels and bring him home safely today too!” No sooner did I finish that prayer, did my husband roll over in bed to say: “I’m not going to work today.” That’s the kind of subtlety I’m talking about. Since 9/11 (as some of you may know, my husband is a 9/11 survivor) I don’t ever question his reasons for taking off – I just go with the flow, knowing home is where he’s supposed to be on the day he decides to take off! I’m obedient to the subtlety and I feel a sense of freedom, security and peace knowing he’s home safely. I can go on and on with stories like this one to illustrate moments in my life where I experienced God’s outstretched hand. The image I see when I read the last sentence of this Antiphon is God walking beside me and stretching out His hand to protect me, sort of like a driver stretching out an arm toward its passenger when slamming on the brakes.
So what can we take from today’s Antiphon? Practice being acutely aware of God’s presence in your life and how He’s speaking to you. God speaks to us in varied ways – through our thoughts, dreams, the people we encounter, the things we read, sudden desires, etc. Hear Him, feel Him, listen to Him! When we listen and follow His lead, “go with the flow”, we are relieved of all anxiety, fear and worry knowing all will be well because God is in control. It is then that we are truly free! God bless you!
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