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Isaiah: 11: 1-10
On that day,
A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him:
a Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
A Spirit of counsel and of strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of fear of the LORD,
and his delight shall be the fear of the LORD.
Not by appearance shall he judge,
nor by hearsay shall he decide,
But he shall judge the poor with justice,
and decide aright for the land’s afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the band around his waist,
and faithfulness a belt upon his hips.
Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
The calf and the young lion shall browse together,
with a little child to guide them.
The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,
together their young shall rest;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The baby shall play by the cobra’s den,
and the child lay his hand on the adder’s lair.
There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;
for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,
as water covers the sea.
On that day,
The root of Jesse,
set up as a signal for the nations,
The Gentiles shall seek out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
The Word of the Lord.
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We are constantly reminded in scripture that God does the impossible.
When darkness seems overwhelming, suddenly a light appears.
When hope is nearly lost, a door is opened.
Or, using the imagery from our first reading, when a tree is cut down to its roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms.
Life continues.
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These words come from the prophet Isaiah while Israel is living in exile. Their land has been invaded, their homes destroyed, their king dethroned.
As the Psalmist cries out, “You have rejected and spurned your anointed. You have hurled down his throne to the ground. How long, O LORD?”
Israel has been cut down like a tree to its stump.
But the Lord promises them, “a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.” Life will continue. A king will come, ushering in divine justice and everlasting peace.
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We see this promise fulfilled in Jesus, the king and ruler of all. When God takes on flesh, he does the “impossible.”
When nailed to a tree and placed in a tomb, he does the impossible again, rising from the dead.
Time and time again, when God’s people are cut down to their roots, a shoot sprouts up, a bud blossoms. Life continues.
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What’s the “stump” in my own life? What part of me seems cut down?
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Advent is the time for us to renew our faith in the Lord, that whenever we feel reduced to our roots, a shoot shall sprout, a bud shall blossom.
New life is coming.
Come, Lord Jesus.
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Image credits: (1) Kelley Lorencin (2) iStock (3) Pinterest