64:1-9); God’s call to the prophet Isaiah (6:1-11); the prophetic revelation that God will come and save us (Isaiah 7:10-15, 11:1-9, 35:1-10; Baruch 4:36-5:9; Micah 5:2-4); and our call to rejoice and sing because God promises a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17-25, Zephaniah 3:14-18).
Hymns of longing and anticipation, such as “Sleepers, Wake!” and “Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus,” echo the focus of the readings. Particularly appropriate is the Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” drawn from the Great ‘O’ antiphons of Advent (December 17-23).
The Jesse Tree
In Isaiah, the Messiah’s family tree is identified: the root of Jesse (Jesse was David’s father). The house of David will produce an ideal king who will inaugurate the reign of peace, justice and universal knowledge of God.
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
—Isaiah 11:1–2
Symbol 14
In art, a reclining Jesse dreams of a genealogical tree that grows out of his loins with “leafs” in the tree that name the ancestors of Jesus. In homes and churches, a barren branch or bare evergreen is progressively laden with “leaves” of messianic lineage until the Jesse tree blooms on Christmas Day with the arrival of Jesus. The first “leaf” on the tree, Adam and Eve, represents the common origins of the whole human family. The Garden of Eden symbolizes the familial relationship of humanity and our rebelliousness that causes estrangement from God and one another.
The New Testament opens with Matthew’s genealogy, the model Jesse tree: “An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” Verse 2 begins: “Abraham who was the father of Isaac” so that the story of Israel begets the story of Jesus Christ.5 The lineage continues with Jacob, who generates the twelve tribes of Israel (two moons with twelve stars). Ruth (barley), Jesse’s grandmother, is one of five women cited, all of whom have questionable marital status. She models that faithful perseverance, not birthright or status, is vital. Out of Jesse’s humble home in Bethlehem, the young shepherd boy, David, is anointed king and his son Solomon exemplifies wisdom. After Hezekiah, the last of the faithful kings before the dispersion, the house of David falls into oblivion until Joseph agrees to wed Mary, the mother of God, and raise God’s Son as his own. The son of Joseph is the long-awaited eternal king, the flower of Jesse’s tree.
The Future: Parousia
The New Testament foretells the victorious return of Christ. The “day of the Son of Man” (Luke 17:24)6 is Jesus’ glorious Parousia. At a time indefinite, the “day of the Lord” comes to complete the work of salvation. Christ-with-us arrives in completion and eliminates all evil. It is the “day of judgment,” when our behavior is assessed and we are called to account, finally and fully. On that day, Love-never-ending reveals who we are.
A symbol of the Last Judgment depicts Christ enthroned in majesty, surrounded by the four winged creatures of Ezekiel 1:10 and Revelation 4:6–7. Starting at Christ’s right shoulder and moving counterclockwise, the creatures are a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle, symbolizing the four evangelists. As the winged man, Matthew, who opens with the genealogy of Jesus (Jesse tree above), stresses the Incarnation and the imminent kingdom. The winged lion represents Mark, whose gospel opens with the urgency of a lion’s roar—“Prepare the way of the Lord!”—and closes with the Resurrection, also symbolized by a lion. The sacrificial ox present at the holy birth of Jesus, fully human and fully divine, is Luke’s symbol, stressing the atoning death of Christ to save all humankind. John, the eagle, soars to the loftiest heights to affirm that Jesus is the incarnate Word of God (1:14).
Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
—I John 3:2
Symbol 15
The Present: Daily Visitation
Amos, a shepherd and prophet of social justice, proclaims God’s hope for justice.
Our vocation is to watch for Jesus who is Lord, here and now. Love God by practicing justice and kindness daily. Our judgment hinges upon recognizing Christ, present in all people, especially the anawim7:
Then the righteous will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?” And the king will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:37–40
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
—Amos 5:24
Symbol 16
Christ promises to be with us always, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). The entire corpus of the New Testament letters (Paul, Peter, James, Jude, and John) is written to believers to emphasize the active lordship of Jesus Christ. The letters bid us to remember the original message of Jesus’ victory over death, to realize Christ present within the church. Like the apostles on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35), don’t our hearts burn with the love of God when they are opened by Christ’s presence?
Throughout scripture we are taught to watch for God-with-us, to repent for our disobedience and to rejoice in Christ’s daily presence. Then we will be prepared to welcome the one who came humbly in the flesh and will come again in glory at the Last Day.
The Key Figures of Advent: Isaiah, Mary and John the Baptist
Our hopeful expectation of the coming of God’s reign is nowhere more compelling than in the lives of the three biblical figures, Isaiah, Mary and John the Baptist, who incarnate the meaning of Advent. These three clearly exemplify Advent vigilance. Awake in God, they recognize God’s arrival. In their acceptance of God’s Advent, God comes for all of us: their vigilance facilitates God’s Incarnation. The longing of Isaiah for the Messiah, the expectation of Mary, mother of God, and the recognition of the Christ by John the Baptist illuminate a threefold theology of Advent. (Note: Isaiah and John the Baptist do not have assigned dates during Advent. Honor them on an open date on your calendar. Mary is remembered on December 8.)
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
—Isaiah 6:8
Longing: Isaiah
Eight centuries before the birth of Christ, when Israelite
