Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Advent. Show all posts

Saturday, December 21, 2024

The Greatest Journey: Part 4

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it.

Continuing our examination of chapter five of  Go to Joseph we continue with Mary and Joseph on their trip to Bethlehem. I love Father Gilsdorf's idea that Mary and Joseph might have planned little side trips on the way to Bethlehem. That's just the way that Tom and I do our trips, so it makes the whole thing suddenly come alive for me. And it gives me a glimpse of Mary and Joseph as a married couple, which is also a lovely "coming alive" moment.
Saint Joseph, José de Ribera (1591–1652)
We may conjecture further about the last miles as they approached their destination. Would Mary and Joseph have chosen to bypass Ein Kerem, which was directly on their path? It was situated two miles north of Jerusalem. Can we suppose that, had they stopped there, the place where Mary had so recently aided her cousin in her own recent pregnancy, that there would have been a grand reception? Can we permit ourselves to picture the possibility of a reunion of the priest Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth with Mary and Joseph, with little John sleeping in their midst? If this happened -- and again Scripture doesn't mention it -- Mary and Joseph would have had a day or so of rest and comfort in the generous company of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They also would have had the chance to replenish their supplies.

Despite the silence of the Gospel account, we will dare add one more rather plausible conjecture, Jerusalem lay directly on the path to Bethlehem. Would Mary and Joseph have failed to enter the Holy City? If so, would they not have paid a visit to the Temple? What a fulfillment that would have been it! The Holy of Holies had been vacant for centuries. The Ark of the Covenant vanished when the Temple was destroyed at the time of the deportation in 587 BC.

But dare we imagine that Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant, enters the new Temple? Within her womb resides the Shekinah of the Tabernacle.iv God's only begotten Son fills the Temple with a real incarnate divine Presence. He was in His Father's house.

One might construct another scenario. Perhaps a departure from Ein Kerem in the early morning, a visit to the Temple later in the morning after a two mile walk, about noon, and a final dealine to be met -- five miles of rather desolate travel slightly southwest to Bethlehem!
And thou, Bethlehem, of the land of Judah, art by no means least among the princes of Judah; for from thee shall come forth a leader who shall rule My people Israel. (Mic 5:2 as cited in Matt 2:6)
iv The Shekinah--or Sh'cheenah--was the dwelling or the very Presence of God.
In part 5 Mary and Joseph arrive at Bethlehem.

Friday, December 20, 2024

Magi

Carving of the Magi from the Romanesque Cathedral of Saint Lazare/Autun

Yes, it is too early to really think of the Magi arriving, but let's just think about the fact that they had to be on the road for a while. So we may surely think of the angel inspiring them to get underway.

The Greatest Journey, part 3

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it.

Continuing our examination of chapter five of Go to Joseph we now see Mary and Joseph set out on the trip to Bethlehem. Father Gilsdorf mentions things I never thought about in connection to this journey, such as how Joseph's skills may have come in handy or the concept of Mary as a living monstrance. Truly this is giving me something to contemplate as we grow closer to Christmas.
Saint Joseph, James Tissot
Then the day came for departure on the journey south to Bethlehem. Each day of this procession, Mary, like a living monstrance, rode astride the donkey, with Joseph walking along side holding the reins. Each night, he would have needed to have found shelter. Perhaps they stayed in roadside inns? The homes of friends and relatives? But surely, most often, the carpenter had to improvise, cutting and assembling branches to construct a lean-to. Nights in any desert are usually chilled, anyway, but given the time frame, this was also the traditional season of the cold winter rains.

On all sides were threats and terrors. Wild animals still ranged the wooded hilly areas.iii Other predators, equally cunning and merciless, were the notorious robber bands who scouted the trail for pilgrims to plunder. The courage, skills, and resourcefulness of Joseph are given wordless witness by the fact that this newly married couple not only made the journey but made it safely (undoubtedly with the protection of many angels).

In the daytime, there was the tedium of ascending hills and traversing valleys. As any woman who has endure the extreme discomfort of a late term will attest, this would have caused Mary extreme discomfort. This suffering must have struck a pained, compassionate response in her loving spouse. Bystanders probably observed them quickly and shrugged. Just a young man and his young, pregnant wife and nothing more. Who would have dreamed that before their eyes had just passed their Messiah, the Annointed longed for from the ages? Even less could they discern that the Messiah was truly "Emmanuel, God with us," the very Son of God. Scripture foretold that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son, and this was that very virgin!

Try as we might, the prayers and conversation of Mary and Joseph inevitably escape our powers of imagination. What did they share? How much did Joseph advance in holiness during this Advent?

iii Keep in mind that before the Romans denuded the Middle East and northern Africa of them for gladiatorial games, these areas were home to lions and bears.
In part 4 the journey continues.

Thursday, December 19, 2024

Santa and The Print Collector

Santa and The Print Collector
by Santa Classics
Perusing my back files, I rediscovered Santa Classics ? Ed Wheeler, an artist and photographer, shows Santa entering into great artistic masterpieces. Somehow he pulls this off both with humor and reverence for the originals. Drop by and take a look around!

The Greatest Journey, part 2

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it.

Continuing our examination of chapter five of Go to Joseph we now begin to prepare for the trip to Bethlehem. Of course, that is of no immediate interest for contemplation if we do not also consider the spiritual side as well, which is thoughtfully brought up here. I especially like the link to Israel's history and Jesus' heritage which is brought up in the footnote. That was both a surprise and good food for thought for me personally in terms of considering Jesus' journeys. As a detail-oriented planner by nature, the idea of Joseph's pains to consider everything needed on a practical basis appeals to me also and makes me relate to him personally.
Mosaic of the enrollment for taxation before Governor Quirinius
The route of the journey was probably the same as that taken in the Visitation, which Luke tells us was through the hill country known as the shephelah, a geographical backbone down the center is Israel.ii The other routes were safe and more level, but this was the more direct route, and significantly, it was trodden by the feet of countless pious pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the great Temple feasts. This distance to Jerusalem was about 85 miles. Joesph, however, was going five miles further south to Bethlehem to register in his ancestral home as required by the imperial census.

We can be sure that Joseph set a prudent daily pace out of respect for Mary's condition that added one more penitential aspect to this pilgrimage. Perhaps, then, about two weeks were required. These very weeks would correspond to our final phase of Advent. The earlier weeks were the period of prayerful preparation.

We can meditate on these preparations with a great spiritual gain. As an expectant mother, Mary prepared the customary necessities for her Child. We hear only of the swaddling clothes, but she doubtless had many other items to gather or to make with her own hands.

The spiritual preparations, however, would have been the most sublime experiences. Every expectant mother lives in constant awareness of the new life stirring in her womb. She must make sacrifices big and small and perform other acts of self-denial, all for the advantage of her child. She does so with great joy, and --if she is a believer--she will give thanks and pray for the life within.

But Mary heightens these maternal experiences in correspondence with her exalted holiness and her knowledge of the mystery of Who this Child of hers is. For her, the first Advent was filled with love, self-giving, peace, joy, and a constant inward contemplation. Hers was not only hope, but literally expectation, longing to behold the face of this Child, hers and God's. We recall the salutation of Gabriel, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" ... is within thee!

In his own way, Joseph shared in this loving preparation. He, too, must have meditated on and adored the Child in Mary's womb. Enlightened now by heavenly revelation, he knew that his young wife was "blessed among women" and that "the fruit of her womb" was blessed, the Holy One of God. As a man with a mission to be the Redeemer's protector and provider, he labored arduously to assemble provisions for the journey. He would have carefully planned ahead to meet every need and to attempt to estimate the daily schedule, to plot the possible night-shelters.

ii This is also the route that King David took with the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Sam 6:2-16.
Next we will discuss the journey itself.

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Collecting the Tree

Father and son with their dog collecting a tree in the forest,
painting by Franz Krüger (1797–1857)

The Greatest Journey, part 1

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it. 

Chapter Five of Go to Joseph (reviewed here) examines Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. This seems the perfect section to share ins Advent. I will do this as a series, as is my wont. I think you'll see what a really remarkable little book this is from this chapter. This first section is rather long as I couldn't find a good breaking point until after the discussion of the timing for Mary and Joseph's journey.

Chapter Five
The Greatest Journey
Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche in Istanbul
And Joseph went from Galilee out of the town of Nazareth into Judea to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem--because he was of the house and family of David--to register, together with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child."

The Bible is laced with special journeys. Think how our father in faith Abraham journeyed from Ur along the arc of the Fertile Crescent to what we now call Israel.1 Even more pivotal was the Exodus, where Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, a journey that is a type of our Christian redemption and is consistently echoed in the Gospels.

Then there was the Jews' joyous return from their Babylonian captivity, made possible by the tolerance decree of the conquering Persian Emperor Cyrus (559 BC-529 BC). There are others on a smaller scale that are also significant in a religious and symbolic sense.

We have already mentioned the virtuous mission of the pregnant Mary when she rose up in haste to visit and assist her cousin Elizabeth in Ein Kerem.

But of all these travels, only one deserves to be called the greatest, the holiest, and the loveliest of all: The journey to Bethlehem. Perhaps we should call it a procession.

Earlier we mentioned the chronology proposed by Fr. Gaechter. He conjectures--from reasons of suitability--that Joseph prudently made this journey to Bethlehem very soon after his formal marriage to Mary. The motive, he believes, was to spare Mary from the questions of the inquisitive Nazarenes once her pregnancy became visible. We later learn that the people of this village were capable of angry rejection of Jesus--"Is this not the carpenter's son?"

Another argument to favor the theory of an early arrival (rather than their arriving just before Jesus' birth) is that in the final weeks of gestation, Mary would have traveled the long rugged way with great discomfort and danger.

While this early date sounds logical and prudent, it would place the journey several months before the birth of Jesus. In this scenario, Joseph took Mary directly to Bethlehem, where he was able to obtain temporary housing and make advance preparations by his labor.

Once Mary reached her term and the birth was imminent, Joseph sought more suitable shelter and privacy. He failed to find shelter in private homes. The inn itself was no place for them in the sense that privacy and decorum were impossible, so he found refuge for them in the stable of the inn.

This is possible. It does not contradict the Gospel account nor does it fail to recognize the zeal, love, and prudence of Joseph. Nonetheless, it all remains mere conjecture.

Other less drastic solutions to the obvious problems could be offered. Perhaps Joseph owned or established temporary quarters elsewhere in the north. The acclaimed Fr. Rene Laurentin calls Fr. Gaechter's work "the most daring and painstaking reconstruction," yet his conclusion is as follows:
As interesting and penetrating as the many observations of Gaechter may be, the reconstruction belongs in the realm of science-fiction. The author boldly reconstructs the events: Mary, betrothed in October 9 BC, went to Bethlehem immediately after her marriage with Joseph, five months before the birth of Jesus, which Gaechter located in March 7 BC.
Some readers may not be aware that the first Christmas did occur some years before 1 AD. We only mark Christ's birth in that year because of miscalculations by the monk Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470-c. 544), who was entrusted with revision of the calendar.

Complex as all these considerations may be, pondering all this seems very helpful even in our booklet of meditations since it often highlights the overlooked problems and decisions Joseph had to face.

Nevertheless, we will be on safer footing to follow the simpler, traditional interpretation suggested by the inspired biblical data that has nourished pious reflection throughout the centuries.

1 According to The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press), the Fertile Crescent is a "well watered and fertile area [that] arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert. It is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean and on the east by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and includes all or parts of Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq."
Next we will discuss preparation for the journey.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Nativity on Japanese Christmas Card

Nativity on a Japanese Christmas Card via J.R.'s Art Place

The Nativity as depicted on a Japanese Christmas card, from the collections of the Marian Library at the University of Dayton, Ohio. Isn't this great? I especially love finding Christian art as depicted by different cultures.

Monday, December 16, 2024

An Advent Reflection on the Child Who Made His Mother

Of every other child that is born into the world, friends can say that it resembles his mother. This was the first instance in time that anyone could say that the mother resembled the Child. This is the beautiful paradox of the Child Who made His mother; the mother, too was only a child. It was also the first time in the history of this world that anyone could ever think of heaven as being anywhere else than "somewhere up there"; when the Child was in her arms, Mary now looked down to Heaven ...
Life of Christ by Fulton J. Sheen

Art: Miracle on 34th Street

Miracle on 34th Street. Valentine Davies.
via Books and Art
Now that's a gorgeous cover — the sort they don't make these days.

Monday, December 2, 2024

Well Said - Advent: Letting Go and Going Deeper

Winter preserves and strengthens a tree. Rather than expending its strength on the exterior surface, its sap is forced deeper and deeper into its interior depth. In winter a tougher, more resilient life is firmly established. Winter is necessary for the tree to survive and flourish.

Instantly you see the application. So often we hide our true condition with the surface virtues of pious activity, but, once the leaves of our frantic pace drop away, the power of a wintry spirituality can have effect.

To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defects, flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections stand out in bold relief. But only the outward virtues have collapsed; the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened. The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real, solid, enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.
Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home
This quote seems like one more gentle reminder of a truth I've come face to face with in the last few weeks. I have been reading Father Dysinger's introduction to lectio divina again. I have found over the years that I practice my own unique form of lectio but anchoring myself occasionally in traditional instruction is always good. I find the above theme is echoed by Father Dysinger.
THE ART of lectio divina begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply, to hear “with the ear of our hearts” as St. Benedict encourages us in the Prologue to the Rule. When we read the Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the “faint murmuring sound” which is God's word for us, God's voice touching our hearts. This gentle listening is an “atunement” to the presence of God in that special part of God's creation which is the Scriptures.

THE CRY of the prophets to ancient Israel was the joy-filled command to “Listen!” “Sh'ma Israel: Hear, O Israel!” In lectio divina we, too, heed that command and turn to the Scriptures, knowing that we must “hear” - listen - to the voice of God, which often speaks very softly. In order to hear someone speaking softly we must learn to be silent. We must learn to love silence. If we are constantly speaking or if we are surrounded with noise, we cannot hear gentle sounds. The practice of lectio divina, therefore, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God's word to us...
Perhaps it is simply appropriate to the season, to that looking forward in Advent to the One who comes to complete us, to fill that empty "God-shaped" hole in our hearts.

All I know is that in the letting go, the taking up again of lectio, I am finding a quiet peace that is the perfect antidote to the rushing of Christmas preparation. Indeed, it makes the Christmas preparation simpler and calmer, despite the fact that I am doing nothing different than usual ... on the outside, that is. On the inside, I am listening ...







Sunday, December 1, 2024

Advent Comes ... and With It Comes the New Church Year

The Son of Man is coming, and we are to look forward, get ready, and keep traveling the pilgrim way as we watch for the light, for our deliverance, for Jesus Christ.
Everybody knows, even those of us who have lived most unadventurously, what it is to plod on for miles, it seems, eagerly straining your eyes toward the lights that, somehow, mean home. How difficult it is, when you are doing that to judge distances! In pitch darkness, it might be a couple of miles to your destination, it might be a few hundred yards. So it was, I think, with the Hebrew prophets, as they looked forward to the redemption of their people. They could not have told you, within a hundred years, within five hundred years, when it was the deliverance would come. They only knew that, some time, the stock of David would burgeon anew; some time, a key would be found to fit the door of their prison house; some time, the light that only shows, now, like a will-o'-the-wisp on the horizon would broaden out, at last into the perfect day.

This attitude of expectation is one which the Church wants to encourage in us, her children, permanently. She sees it as an essential part of our Christian drill that we should still be looking forward; getting on for two thousand years, now, since the first Christmas Day came and went, and we must still be looking forward. So she encourages us, during advent, t take the shepherd-folk for our guides, and imagine ourselves traveling with them at dead of night, straining our eyes towards that chink of light which streams out, we know, from the cave at Bethlehem.
R.A. Knox, Sermon on Advent 1947
quoted in In Conversation with God, Vol. 1, Francis Fernandez
With Advent the liturgical year begins in the Western churches. We switch to a new book of the gospels for Mass reading. In this year (Year C) it will be Luke who will instruct us every week.

Before Christmas we spend time in contemplation and preparation for the coming of Christ on three levels: as memorial of his incarnation as the babe in Bethlehem, to his coming with grace in our souls, and in looking forward to when he comes as the Judge at the end of time.

Those who celebrate Advent do so with various private devotions during this time. Some read a specific book to think about, some go to regular adoration, some try to avoid excessive focus on Christmas preparations, and such things.

I like this Advent Litany which may be helpful as we school ourselves to wait in patience to wait for Our Lord and contemplate what that means.
Advent Litany

Lord Jesus, you are the light of the world.
Come, Lord Jesus.

You are light in our darkness.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of God, save us from our sins.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Son of Mary, deepen our love.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring hope into the lives of all people.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Give your peace to all nations.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Be the joy of all who love you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bring unity among all who believe in you.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Bless us as we gather here in your name.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, stay with us always.
Come, Lord Jesus.

Let us pray:

May Christ give us his peace and joy,
and let us share them with others.
All peace and glory are his for ever.

Amen.

Friday, December 22, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 16 - Jonah

This year we have the shortest possible time between the first Advent Sunday and Christmas. That means we won't be seeing a lot of the Jesse Tree entries. And I discovered that I should've switched to the O Antiphons on the 17th. Ah well, I told you this was going to be idiosyncratic!

We'll end this year with Jonah, who is a good example of what NOT to do (run away when God gives you a task) and what to do (pray when you're in the belly of a huge fish).

======

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.


Day 16: Jonah

Symbols: whale

Jonah and the Whale
As a friend of mine once said, "Jonah is the comedy book in the Bible." It's 4 chapters long, it's an action story, and it's very funny. What's not to like?

The Church Fathers often compare Jonah's three days in the fish to Christ's three days in the tomb. I myself love the fact that Jonah is so busy running from God. Been there. Done that. Luckily without any huge fish being involved.

And I love the fact that God is so funny when he is poking Jonah at the end of the book. He cares enough to save the Ninevites who were the most hated people of their time. And he cares about each one individually, such as Jonah.

God Talks to Jonah

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 15: Elijah

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 15: Elijah

Symbols: stone altar

Elijah and the priests of Baal
We all have a few vague pictures of Elijah. For one thing, he shows up during Christ's transfiguration so we should pay a bit of attention when he comes up in the Jesse Tree. Usually it is because he stands up for God before the priests of Ba'al and wins hands-down (for God is on his side). It is a spectacular showdown and if you aren't familiar with it, I encourage you to read about it.

Some may think of the ravens feeding him in the wilderness. I myself always remember the pagan woman whose grain and oil never ran out, even though there was a famine, because Elijah was boarding with her. And whose son he raised from the dead.

The Elijah story that speaks to my heart most, though, is one that I suspect we all relate to. Elijah is on the run from the Israelite leaders who want to kill him. He is weary and heart-sick and wants to give up. And God comes to speak to him.
And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
We've all looked for a big sign and wound up with a still, small voice, haven't we? And I think we've all had times when we've been "done" and wanted to curl up in a cave. Elijah performed God's miracles but in the details of his life he is more like us than we might think.

Elijah raises the widow's son, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1851-60

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 14: David

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 14: David

Symbols: shepherd's crook, harp, slingshot, 6-pointed star

Michelangelo, David and Goliath, 1509

David began as a shepherd, the youngest of the family, and from Bethlehem. When I read his story in the Bible his humanity becomes so clear. He is so often the best of what we hope from humanity. And he also is often the worst. His most famous descendant, Jesus, was also from Bethlehem and is our shepherd.

“I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep.”(John 10:14, 15)

David is anointed king by Samuel, Anonymous

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 13: Samuel

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 13: Samuel

Symbols: lamp, temple

The Infant Samuel, Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792
I must begin this by saying that I love the story of Hannah, Samuel's mother who prayed to God in the temple to give her a child. Read the first two chapters of 1 Samuel for her story and to see what leads up to Samuel's story.

With that example no wonder Samuel began life loving God and being obedient. Again we see the theme which runs throughout salvation history - obedience. Even when it doesn't make sense, this obedience works because God sees the big picture so much better than we do. Samuel must have needed to cling to his trust and faith in God when you think of some of the things he saw people doing, especially once Saul began ruling.

Samuel in the Temple, David Wilkie, 1839

Monday, December 18, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 12: Ruth

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 12: Ruth

Symbols: grain, basket

Ruth Gleaning, illustrated manuscript 1405-1415, British Library
Who doesn't know and love this story of the loving, faithful daughter-in-law who became an ancestress not only to King David, but to Jesus Christ? It is worth remembering that she was a pagan from a strange country but who God used in his mysterious ways for all of our good.

Boaz and Ruth, Rembrandt

Sunday, December 17, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 11: Gideon

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 11: Gideon

Symbols: clay water pitcher, torch,

Gideon Chooses His 300, James Tissot
Gideon's story begins with a familiar pattern. After being saved and brought into the Promised Land, time passed, and the people fell back into their old, sinful ways. Sometimes, God lets you reap what you sow so that you can see the error of your ways. In this case, he withdraws his protection and ... whoosh! ... in come the Midianites for some of that land of milk and honey.

God, of course, is merciful and hearing his people's pleas, he raises up a hero in the way that so often happens, by picking most unlikely guy around - Gideon. A poor farmer who, like Moses, at first protests that he isn't worthy or capable, Gideon leads a picked force of 300 to defeat 100,000 Midianites. Sneaking up with torches hidden under water pitchers, they surprised the people so much that many of them began fighting among themselves. The victory was a total rout.

What better way to be reminded that when there is victory, it is through God? We can't depend on ourselves alone.

I love Gideon best for the story of how many times he asked God for reassurance using a sheep's fleece and dewfall. I can totally relate to that brand of skepticism. God's patience with Gideon is something I've experienced myself. On a much lesser level, of course.

Gideon thanks God for the Miracle of the Dew,
Maarten van Heemskerck, 1550

Saturday, December 16, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 10: Joshua

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 10: Joshua

Symbols: ram's horn trumpet

The Battle of Jericho on Ghiberti doors, Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0

Joshua had the daunting task of following Moses as the Hebrew people's leader. Yet, every time I read about Moses's life, Joshua begins to come to my attention, carefully pointed out by the author. He is stalwart, he loves God, and he is obedient. So he's the perfect leader to take this band of people who wandered in the desert for 40 years precisely because of their disobedience. And he leads them in a leap of faith that is such a crazy stunt only God would have thought it up. "C'mon everyone, let's march around the city crying aloud to God and then, we'll blow our trumpets. And the city will be ours."

As is often the case with God's "crazy stunts" this one worked because of His power and their trust and obedience. We look forward to the purpose of this tiny baby Jesus whose coming we await, and we see the one who is fully trusting, fully obedient, and fully loving ... both of us and of God the Father.

I've also always loved the story of Joshua leading the people into the Promised Land and the River Jordan parting for them. Hey, there's more to Joshua than trumpets.

The Children of Israel Crossing the Jordan by Benjamin West, 1800

Friday, December 15, 2023

Jesse Tree - Day 9: Moses

I last published these Jesse Tree posts in 2019. I want to revisit them this Advent so you're coming along for the ride!

The Jesse Tree helps us prepare for Christ's coming by studying His roots and Salvation History. 

Jesse Trees follow the same general outline but I've found they are widely varied in some of the details. Some may have one day for Moses, others may spend 4 days on different aspects of his life. I'll be following the basic outline but, therefore, using my own discretion in a few spots.

Day 9: Moses

Symbols: baby in basket, river and rushes

The Birth of Moses, circa 2nd century
Gabrielle Sed Rajna L'Art Juif- Citadelles Mazenod
Source
I know that Moses is a "type" for Jesus, meaning that we can see examples in his life of the larger message Jesus will bring for us. It never occurred to me until considering this scripture in relationship to Christmas that Moses escapes wholesale slaughter of baby boys - just like Jesus does. It all begins right here.

Of course, there are many more things to consider from Moses's life. He was curious, brave, and intelligent enough to investigate the burning bush and obey the Living God. He went against his natural instincts to obey God's will and engaged in a battle of wills with Pharaoh, led his people into the desert, performed miracles at God's behest, and brought them the Torah, the Law which instructs them and us to this day.

He, Qi. Finding of Moses, 2001
via Vanderbilt Divinity Library