O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not. Amen.

The antiphon for the Radical. Getting to the root of the matter is the central theme of the day. O­nly when we are rooted can we grow up strong and confident. Growing is not an optional extra in any faith. Today, we recognise Jesus – conscious of his roots in the ancient bloodlines of Israel – conscious of the fact that he represents that great outpouring of divine inclusion. All the world will all be gathered into this kingdom. All the false divisions that we make – Gentile and Jew, young and old, gay and straight, male and female, dirty shepherd and magi-king – all these divisions melt away round the manger cradle.

He will be the ensign of the people, the gathering point for all humanity. He signifies God's presence. His banner of love is unfurled in the silence of the desert. Waving in the wilderness breeze is the signifier of o­ne who will gather all, enfold all and embrace all.

O Lord and Ruler of the House of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush and gave him the law o­n Sinai: come, and redeem us with outstretched arms. Amen.

The same o­ne who is known as Lord, flickers in an unsteady fire – a fire extinguished neither by our own logic nor expectations. The challenge of the burning bush is not to believe that o­ne day long, long ago, o­nce upon a time, Moses saw a flame burning where he ought not to have seen it burning. No, the challenge is to see that every bush is burning. Every bush is alight with God's presence. Take off your shoes, this is holy ground and the flame of God's presence is no more scarce than God's grace. For all is alight with God's love and all is drenched in God's grace – and all at the same time. Blazing…Drowning.

The o­ne who gave the law is alive – and not in the tablets of stone, but in a living, growing, blazing tree. It is the God of the Burning Bush who promises freedom – liberty from all that binds us. And the Exodus freedom-ride is still o­nly now beginning.

The Advent Antiphons are not words to make us stumble in incomprehension – they are words to resound within. Whoever understands everything anyway? Who wants to? Let there be space within wherein God's word may echo around.