Stumps and Shoots

Advent Day 3

First Tuesday in Advent

November 29, 2011

Reading: Isaiah 11:1 (NRSV)

¹ A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Theme: Stumps and shoots

Reflection:

I never cease to be amazed at how resilient plant life is. I have several junk trees that have grown at various places in my flower beds. If I were a better gardener, I might have pulled them out when they had weak spindly roots; however, by the time they attracted my attention, they were full fledged saplings. I have sawed at them, and my husband has hacked at the roots. But it seems that no matter what we do, there are shoots coming out of the sawed off stumps. I’ll think to myself—this time I’ve knocked that tree off. Yet the next time I look at the stump, lo and behold there is yet another green shoot emerging from the stump.

From this these words of the prophet Isaiah, it appears that God is promising that Jesse’s family line will have a resilience that resembles the junk trees in my garden. Despite the calamities that will happen to God’s people in Israel, as they are invaded by their Assyrian and Babylonian neighbors, a new leader will emerge, who will restore God’s people. Jesse’s descendents have already included the great King David (son of Jesse). Another great leader from this lineage is anticipated. This passage from Isaiah is viewed as a prophecy of a great Messiah (God’s anointed one). The Gospel writers, particularly Luke and Matthew, go to great lengths to show that Jesus is in David’s lineage, revealing that Jesus is God’s promised Messiah. From a Christian perspective, this Old Testament passage is viewed as pointing to Jesus Christ.

As I sit in this Advent time and hear these words from a prophet living 800 years before the birth of Jesus, I reflect on how much God’s people had hoped for a Messiah. They watched for the resilient shoot to emerge from the stump of God’s chosen people. We are blessed to live at a time when we know that God had made good on the promise of that shoot—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Each Advent season, we watch and wait both for Jesus’ birth and the sense of Christ’s presence in our own lives.

Prayer:

God of the promises, help me to watch and wait for your shoot to emerge in my own life. Amen