Daily Retreat 12/05/06
2006 Dec 5 Tue:Advent
Is 11:1-10; Ps 71(72):1-2,7-8,12-13,17; Lk 10:21-24
From today’s readings: “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.... Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace for ever.... Blessed are the eyes that see what you see....”
The Jesse Tree
Jesse was the father of King David, that most famous royal ancestor of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Jesus, the promised messiah, as “a shoot ... from the stump of Jesse,” (Isaiah 11:1). That verse, and the closing verse of today’s reading (Isaiah 11:10 - also quoted by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans 15:12) inspired the concept of the “Jesse Tree,” an artistic representation of the genealogy of Jesus.
Both Matthew and Luke give very detailed information about the family tree of the Son of God (cf. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-37). Some of Christ’s forefathers were obscure, while others figure prominently in the pages of the Old Testament. The evangelists thus illustrated how Jesus is a real member of the whole human family.
One of the best scripturally-inspired Advent customs is thus to reflect on the “Jesse Tree” ancestry of Jesus. Here are a few links:
For general information: http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=545
or http://campus.udayton.edu/mary//meditations/jessetree.html
A unique Jesse Tree painting by Jan Mostaert (1485): http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/SK-A-3901?id=SK-A-3901&page=0&lang=en&context_space=&context_id=
And a historical consideration of one of the earliest Jesse Trees (1086!):
http://www.fsu.edu/~arh/events/athanor/athxviii/AthanorXVIII_williams.pdf
Is 11:1-10; Ps 71(72):1-2,7-8,12-13,17; Lk 10:21-24
From today’s readings: “On that day, a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.... Justice shall flourish in His time, and fullness of peace for ever.... Blessed are the eyes that see what you see....”
The Jesse Tree
Jesse was the father of King David, that most famous royal ancestor of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah wrote of Jesus, the promised messiah, as “a shoot ... from the stump of Jesse,” (Isaiah 11:1). That verse, and the closing verse of today’s reading (Isaiah 11:10 - also quoted by St. Paul in his letter to the Romans 15:12) inspired the concept of the “Jesse Tree,” an artistic representation of the genealogy of Jesus.
Both Matthew and Luke give very detailed information about the family tree of the Son of God (cf. Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-37). Some of Christ’s forefathers were obscure, while others figure prominently in the pages of the Old Testament. The evangelists thus illustrated how Jesus is a real member of the whole human family.
One of the best scripturally-inspired Advent customs is thus to reflect on the “Jesse Tree” ancestry of Jesus. Here are a few links:
For general information: http://www.catholicculture.org/lit/activities/view.cfm?id=545
or http://campus.udayton.edu/mary//meditations/jessetree.html
A unique Jesse Tree painting by Jan Mostaert (1485): http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/SK-A-3901?id=SK-A-3901&page=0&lang=en&context_space=&context_id=
And a historical consideration of one of the earliest Jesse Trees (1086!):
http://www.fsu.edu/~arh/events/athanor/athxviii/AthanorXVIII_williams.pdf
posted by FrPitstick | 12/05/2006
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