Advent Antiphon: O Sacred Lord

"O come, O come, thou Lord of might, who to thy tribes on Sinai's height

in ancient times didst give the Law, in cloud and majesty and awe."

Eighteenth-century aesthetic theory distinguished between the Beautiful and the Sublime. The Beautiful was -- well, beautiful. Harmonious, pleasing, restful. A well-landscaped park was beautiful. The Sublime, in contrast, was something that evoked awe, reverence, even fear. Mountains were sublime, not only because of their height and their uneven, often jagged appearance, but because it used to be thought that they were the abode of gods and other supernatural beings.
And so it was that the God of ancient Israel appeared in the burning bush on Sinai's peak to Moses to give him the Ten Commandments. And here the marvelous second verse of our Advent hymn, the second of the O Antiphons, identifies this "Lord of might" with Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah.
The text of the actual liturgical antiphon asks this "sacred Lord" to set us free -- that common Advent theme that invites each of us to consider what we need to be set free from.
Think of how Jesus at the Transfiguration appeared to his three friends "in cloud and majesty and awe." And think of the contrast between the descriptions of the Lord in these O Antiphons--because the sublimity is to be found in all of them, not just this one--and the tiny, helpless Baby that actually did appear on earth that first Christmas. It's one thing, that unexpected character, that makes the O Antiphons so stunning.  So -- awesome!