Advent

November 28, 2022

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 11:1-10

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.
His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
   or decide by what his ears hear;
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
   and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
   and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins. –Isaiah 11:1-5

Jesse was King David’s father. He was the son of Ohed who was the son of Boaz and Ruth. Matthew 1 tells us that Jesus comes from that line. When I have the time, I dive into my genealogy. I can see traces of both my mother and father in my siblings and me. Our dad gave us a love of music. I often describe my mother as the world’s greatest egalitarian.  She did believe that all people are created equal and should be treated that way.

I have wondered if God incarnate came to us in human form so that God could better understand we humans whom God created. From that experience, we receive redemption and the grace that enables us to become the people we were created to be as we move and have our being, choosing to build a world ruled by love based on learning from our past successes and failures.

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for creating humans who can grow in faith and pass it on to the next generation.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.