November 28: The Messiah Comes Through the House of David
♫ Music:
The Messiah Comes Through the House of David
Scripture: Isaiah 11:1-4a
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.
Advent
by Sr. Christine Schenk
I wait
with quickened hope
for crooked paths
to straighten,
with tough-soul’d
anguish,
while blinded
keepers of the keys
shut out
God’s own.
(If such a thing were possible.)
I wait,
and will not be
dismayed.
For tiny shoot
of Jesse tree
took root in me
to love
transform,
give sight
set free.
JESUS CHRIST THE APPLE TREE
Sacred spaces matter. The stirring poignancy of the anonymous late eighteenth-century hymn “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” was amplified for me by the setting within which I first heard it performed. It was about fifteen years ago. I was resting within an old limestone gothic revival church enjoying a choral Christmas concert performed by men, women, and children. After a moment of stillness, the lights dimmed, and the children’s choir slowly filled the balcony with lit candles in their hands. We were gradually surrounded by light shining out of the darkness on all sides. Once the wee singers were in place, their candles like stars in the night sky, they burst forth with “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.” The gentle beauty was piercing.
But, how does Christ function as a tree for believers? Beyond the visual and auditory beauty, this question, prompted by the rhythmically repeated “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree,” has remained with me all these years. A hint appears in Isaiah 11: 1: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.” This botanical metaphor gestures to the lineage of David, the son of Jesse, from whose roots, buried deep underground, a new branch of the family tree would grow. It is a poetic image of renewal and hope for the future. New life arises from a tree which had been violently chopped down with an axe. This is a reality found in nature. A tree which appears severely damaged above ground, which may even look dead, can sprout a fresh “infant” sapling if its roots remain intact. It is a beautiful Messianic metaphor. Light shines into the darkness, and it brings new life to men and women and children.
Jesus Christ promises to bring us life and rest. He reassures us: “Come to me, all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Perhaps this is also how Christ functions as a tree in our lives: we can rest under the shade of His presence and be nurtured by his fruit. One verse of “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” has been left out of the sung version accompanying this devotional. The stanza contains an expression of the singer’s world weariness and then concludes: “Here I will sit and rest a while / Under the shadow I will be / Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.” It’s a Psalmic image of the singer resting under the shadow of God as sheltering tree. This arboreal trope is brought to its fullness in St. Paul’s emphasis on the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ who died on a tree (Acts 5:30).
This Advent, may we each find moments of rest in contemplating Jesus Christ as the incarnation of new life, sacrificial love, and sustaining fruit.
Prayer
Come, thou long expected Jesus,
born to set thy people free;
from our fears and sins release us,
let us find our rest in thee.
Amen.
(Charles Wesley, 1744)
Natasha Duquette
Associate Academic Dean
Associate Professor of English
Chair, Department of English
Tyndale University College & Seminary
The Flowering Tree
Fred Otnes
Mixed media collage
About the Artist and Art:
Fred Otnes (1930-2015) was a prominent illustrator, painter and collage artist. Trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, Otnes first pursued a career in traditional, realistic illustration in Chicago and New York. By the mid-1960s, Otnes began using techniques such as photo-transfer, and collage techniques to pioneer a unique collage and multi-layered look which was the perfect form in which to depict some of the more complex concepts of the era such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights movement. In the mid-1980s, Otnes committed himself solely to creating gallery work. Fully able to explore the art of collage, he continued to push the boundaries of scale and abstraction in his work.
About the Music:
“Jesus Christ the Apple Tree”
Lyrics:
The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.
His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.
For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasures dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.
This fruit doth make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.
About the Performer:
Bob Bennett (b. 1955) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter from Downey, California. Bennett is known for his distinctive baritone voice, Christian lyrics, and impeccable folk-inspired guitar playing. He picked up his first guitar at age nine and formed a rock 'n' roll band in high school. He converted to Christianity in the late 70’s, and his songwriting began to reflect his newfound faith. His career was launched with the release of his 1979 folk-style debut recording First Things First. Three years later, Matters of the Heart, selected by CCM Magazine as 1982's "Album of the Year," was released. Bennett has made a total of nine albums. Bennett’s songs detail not only his joys and victories, but also his disappointments, struggles, and failures. To Bennett, spiritual themes are everywhere—even in the least holy of circumstances. His music and ministry reflect his belief that all lives are an intricately woven combination of the sacred and profane.
www.bob-bennett.com
About the Hymn:
“Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” is a poem, presumably intended for use as a carol, written by an unknown poet in the 18th century. It has been set to music by a number of composers, including Jeremiah Ingalls (1764–1838) and Elizabeth Poston (1905–1987). The hymn's first known appearance in an American hymnal was in 1784 in Divine Hymns compiled by Joshua Smith, a lay Baptist minister. The song may be an allusion to both the apple tree in Song of Solomon 2:3 which has been interpreted as a metaphor representing Christ, and to Jesus' description of himself as the Tree of Life in Luke 13:18–19, and elsewhere in the New Testament including Revelation 22:1–2. Apple trees were commonly grown in early New England, and there was an old English tradition of wishing health to apple trees on Christmas Eve.
About the Poet:
A Sister of St. Joseph, Christine Schenk has served urban families for 18 years as a nurse midwife before co-founding FutureChurch, a coalition of parish-centered Catholics working for full participation of all Catholics in ministry and decision-making in the church. Retiring after 23 years of service at FutureChurch, she is currently working on a book about women’s leadership in early Christian art and archaeology.