Sunday Gospel Comment

 

Alberic Jacovone OSB

Return to Articles and Reflections

YEAR B

2 Sam 7,1-5.8-12.14.16; Rom 16,25-27; Lk 1,26-38

Come, Lord Jesus! 

"Mar-ana-tha" is a fascinating word, found also in the Bible. It’s not a Greek word (the language of the New Testament), but a transliteration into Greek letters of a phrase in Aramaic dialect, spoken at the time of Jesus, while Hebrew was the literary language . The Aramaic words are: "Mar" which means "Lord" and the verb "tha" which means: "come!" (imperative); whereas the middle part "ana" means "our". So the phrase is a wonderful prayer, expressing an intense longing, and emerging from a deep awareness of need: "Our Lord, come!". This expression is found in New Testament: 1Cor 16,22: "If

anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be condemned: Mar-ana-tha’. It’s found also in a very ancient book contemporary with the Gospels -called "Teaching of 12 Apostles = (Didache"), where this prayer (containing vague references to the end of life or of time) is read: "Let grace come & this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If anyone is holy, let him come; if he is not, let him repent. Mar-ana-tha. Amen.". The meaning of "Our Lord, come! = Mar-ana-tha" is also given in 1Cor 11,26: "As often as you eat this bread & drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes (Mar-ana-tha)".

In the Book of Revelation (22,20), the very last part of the Bible contains the same prayer: "Our Lord, come! - Amen. Come Lord Jesus = Mar-ana-tha". The Church teaches us that Advent is that special time when we wait for the coming of the Lord and in fact we prepare worthily for his coming. While this is true, we realize that Advent is in itself an experience which means to urge us to long and pray -right through life in fact- that Our Lord may come to us ever more fully. We express this every time we pray the ‘Our Father’, as we say: "Thy kingdom come! which in Latin reads: Adveniat regnum tuum".

O come, o come Emmanuel. The phrase: "Our Lord, Come! = Mar-ana-tha", is not simply an "Advent Prayer" dear to the first generation of Christians it’s a state of mind.

It gives Advent -both as Season and as Preparation- its earliest and deepest meaning, as it stems not from the Latin mind-set of "Ad-vent - adventure - advance..." and then was codified into the ritual and custom of preparing people for Christmas. The original Hebrew and Aramaic mind-set was motivated by a world-view whereby the early Christians were aware of their profound needs and dire straights; and they longed for God to come to their rescue. As a result they felt compelled to plead with God to come and restore the peace, justice and harmony which had been hopelessly shattered by the forces of human greed, oppression and by human fragility: with these they felt totally incapable of dealing with. And just as this longing is expressed in the petition of the Our Father: Thy kingdom come ( Latin:Adveniat Regnum tuum), it is also expressed in the prayer: Come Lord Jesus, Mar-ana-tha; and in the famous "O Antiphons" allocated as Alleluja Verses in Masses from 17 to Christmas day -( as a sort of ‘novena’ of more intense & prayerful preparation). These special invocations are beautifully rendered into the nostalgic Hymn: O come, o come, Emmanuel.. (AOV 174). As a conclusion, Advent in its deepest setting is an experience of our intense needs, a realization that our ability to cope with disability is in danger: at times even despair can get hold of us... (and these inabilities need not be restricted to end of life or end of history situations!) Then, we pray and long and plead: Mar-ana-tha! Come Lord Jesus!.. Remember: when it feels like it’s the end... especially then, let your prayer be: Mar-ana-tha, O come o come Emmanuel!

______________________________________