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| Image by Alcides Ota |
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A GREETING
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O God, I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 86:4)
A READING
A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.
(Isaiah 11:1-3)
MUSIC
A MEDITATIVE VERSE
Listen to me, my faithful children, and blossom
like a rose growing by a stream of water.
(Sirach 29:13)
A CAROL
Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming,
As men of old have sung.
It came, a flow’ret bright,
Amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah ’twas foretold it,
The Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it,
The virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright,
She bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
- from "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," song lyrics.
Traditional German carol anonymously written in 1599.
English translation by Theodore Baker (1894).
VERSE OF THE DAY
Wisdom praises herself,
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people:
Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be.
(Sirach 24:1, 9)
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A rose garden in Japan, created and photographed by Mariko Gonda,
found at @1995Le_jardin_secret on Instagram.
The 16th century German Carol "Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming," brings together two different images that have become associated with both Advent and the nativity of Jesus. One of these is the stump or stock of Jesse, out of which we hear in Isaiah that the Messiah will emerge. In the Matthew 1 verses that list the ancestry of Jesus, a direct connection is made between Jesus and Jesse, the father of King David. The connection allows a prophecy to be fulfilled that the messiah will be born from David’s line. The other image offered in the hymn is the rose. In both Celtic and Christian traditions of the middle ages, the ‘rose’ is associated with Mary and also with the child Jesus. In pagan and Celtic traditions, the rose is symbolic of several goddess figures and their mystical capacities. In her prominence in Christianity, Mary was venerated with the same respect as these figures.
The rose and the stump both signal the importance of flowering plants and trees in both Celtic and Christian spirituality and story. In the Hebrew Bible, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil become significant markers of the beginning of the human story. In pagan Celtic spirituality, trees were worshipped. They were (and still are for contemporary practitioners) keepers of wisdom and knowledge. The image of a branch that will come out of the stump of a tree is a powerful suggestion of new life that can emerge out of ancient wisdom.
The pagan and Christian experience of the sacredness of trees becomes linked in the Christmas tree, a pagan custom adapted to Christian purpose in the early sixteenth century in Germany, at about the time today’s carol was first written. Although there is no direct connection between the ‘stump of Jesse’ and the Christmas tree, a ‘Jesse tree’ tradition emerged in Europe to help educate children. Church leaders encouraged the custom of attaching ornaments to Christmas trees, that represented figures from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament.
In the biblical story, trees form a constant thread of creation's bounty. The progress of kings and prophets and average human beings who gathered among them reminds us that, as children of God, we too are 'shoots' from the stock that is God's creation. As we work to renew and grow our faith, and as we do what we can to build up the realm of God on earth, we help to create God’s garden.
In our day to day lives, how much do we think of ourselves as 'shoots' of Creation?
How willing are we to be agents of God's desire for a just world -- in which all may enjoy abundant life?
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| Image by Elvis Kennedy |
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LC† Come Holy Darkness is a project of Lutherans Connect, supported by the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Centre for Spirituality and Media at Martin Luther University College. To receive the devotions by email, write to lutheransconnect@gmail.com. The devotional pages are written and curated by Deacon Sherry Coman, with support and input from Pastor Steve Hoffard, Catherine Evenden and Henriette Thompson. Join us on Facebook, and on Twitter. Lutherans Connect invites you to make a donation to the Ministry by going to this link on the website of the ELCIC Eastern Synod and selecting "Lutherans Connect Devotionals" under "Fund". Devotions are always freely offered, however your donations help to support extended offerings throughout the year.
Thank you and peace be with you!