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. (Is 11:1-3a)
My father may have never been classified as a “master gardener”; but, boy, did he like to putter!
He planted and snipped and clipped and groomed. Nothing got out of his eye. If a tree looked like it needed tending, tending it got. If plants were not not doing what they were supposed to be doing, he ripped them out and put in new ones. He had our yard looking ship shape.
Isaiah spoke about a garden of sorts as well.
Just as Jesus used to use images of planting, tending, and harvesting, Isaiah spoke about roots. His people were awaiting the Messiah. Isaiah spoke about the Messiah as coming from a hearty stock, a lineage that would trace itself all the way back to David.
“A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse.”
Time changes a lot of things. We grow older and weaker. We wither and, eventually, die.
But, there is promise in our coming and going. We can leave behind a great legacy of faith if we live our lives properly.
God is the master gardener. He tends us and watches over us. He wants to see us produce.
FAITH ACTION: Today, our students will have our annual “Mass of the Toys” at which they bring wrapped presents for children of inmates at Indiana State Prison. Please pray for those children who will celebrate the holidays without their fathers.