The Sixth O Antiphon -- "O Dayspring"

O DAYSPRING, Brightness of the light eternal and Sun of Justice:

Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

This Antiphon incorporates several references to Jesus.  The Dayspring reference is from The Canticle of Zechariah in Luke 1.  Zechariah speaks of his son John who will be the “prophet of the most high” who will make ready for “the Dayspring,” or Jesus. 

There are multiple references in the gospels to Jesus as “the Light” or “Light,” most noticeably in John.  In chapter 1, vss. 3-5, the writer proclaims, “What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”  

In Revelation 21 Jesus says, “It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you with this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

The Sun of Righteousness, or here rendered Sun of Justice, is part of the prophesy of Malachi 4: “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.”

Light and its attributes demonstrate Jesus’ bringing clarity and accuracy of perception into the world.  It is difficult to see in the darkness.  But, when light is shed upon a thing, it is more clearly discerned.  And so, we hear the petition in the second line of the Antiphon:

Come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.