ADVENT 4

This passage from Isaiah is the basis for the Jesse Tree, which has become a symbol of Christ's heritage, or roots, and God's covenant with the Jewish people. Very popular in church art in the Middle Ages, the Jesse tree appeared on candlesticks and stained-glass windows. According to interpretations of this passage: "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, "the stump symbolizes the family of the Jews; the shoot, Mary; and the branch, Jesus.

In the Old Testament, Jesse, the son of Obed, was a poor farmer who lived in Bethlehem. He had eight sons, the youngest of whom was David. As a boy, David was anointed by Samuel to succeed Saul as king of the Israelites. Christ the Savior was to be born of the house of David in Bethlehem.

Jesus' ancestry included prophets, kings and priests a well as ordinary people. The Gospel of St Matthew begins with Abraham and traces his descendants down to Joseph, the husband of Mary. The names are arranged in three stages of fourteen generations each.

St Joseph

In the final days of Advent, the Scripture readings tell of the genealogy of Jesus and His immediate family members - Mary and Joseph. St. Joseph has been on the periphery until now, but he emerges as St. Matthew tells us that Joseph also received a message from the Angel Gabriel that the child to be born of Mary is the long-awaited Savior. We know, too, that he is a just man, a son of David, he is silent, never saying a word; he is obedient, always doing what the Angel tells him to do, he is humble, always yielding the first place to Mary, although he is the legitimate head of the family. What a wealth of encouragement we can glean by spending time contemplating St. Joseph as he quietly, simply, patiently and trustfully carries out his vocation of protecting, nurturing and guiding Jesus, the Son of God.