The prophet Isaiah sees the royal family tree of David of his day as a dead stump. No longer does David’s family line produce leaders faithful to God’s law. David’s heirs believe in political intrigue and military strength, rather than in just rule and God’s saving power. Because Isaiah trusts God’s faithfulness, he foresees the stump of Jesse blossoming again.Christians see Jesus as the sprout on the stump of Jesse. Jesus is the Spirit-filled leader Isaiah envisions will transform nations and all nature.
- What do you see in the art at left?
The stump of Jesse
A shoot will sprout from the stump
of Jesse, and from his roots
a bud shall blossom.
God’s spirit shall rest upon him:
a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a spirit of counsel and strength,
a spirit of knowledge
and fear of the Lord. His delight
shall be the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge
by what his eyes see,
nor decide by what his ears hear.
He will judge the poor with justice
and decide fairly for the afflicted.
He shall strike the ruthless
with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips
he shall slay the wicked.
Justice shall be the belt
around his waist, and faithfulness
a belt upon his hips.
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down
with the kid; the calf, the lion,
and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
the lion shall eat hay like the ox.
The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s den; the weaned child
lay a 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 God
as water covers the sea.
On that day the root of Jesse
shall stand as a signal for the peoples;
the nations shall seek him out,
for his dwelling shall be glorious.
Isaiah 11.1-10
How often per day do we have to make up our minds and choose? As a strategy, preachers and political organizers work to remove middle ground and insist we act now. We must be for or against issues. Innovators love to contrast their brilliant new product with the hopelessly obsolete old.
Isaiah’s vision of a peaceable kin*dom challenges us to reconcile opposites, to see likenesses and affinities rather than sharpen differences. Why reduce many points of view to two or one? To hold seeming opposites in tension without letting go of either requires maturity.
To seek out viewpoints, listen to where people come from, and value them can create complexity but also new possibilities. Many insist Catholics must be pro-life and not pro-choice. What if we hold the tension? Where can it take us?
Peace requires reconciliation between lions and lambs, between traditional enemies and opposites. The leader Isaiah anticipates will use justice and faithfulness as tools of peace and community building. This Spirit-filled leader will treat the poor like the rich. On this leader’s holy mountain—a reference to Jerusalem and the mount of Israel’s temple—all will flourish. Ruin and harm will come to no one.
- What seeming opposites have you held in tension and discovered something new?
- Who is new in your neighborhood? How can you extend a holiday greeting to the family?