O Antiphons: Day 3–O Radix Jesse

The story of life drawn from the rain and the dirt, of the swelter of summer and the weathering of winter, the fire of autumn leaves and the new birth of spring. A stump tells a story. Years of growth, ended by ax or saw or storm, or the long slow death of disease.

The prophet’s image – the stump of Jesse – tells the story of great King David’s family. The Lord had given David a kingdom, and through the Lord’s blessing, David had brought glory to that kingdom and its God. But his human flesh also brought sin into his family history. David’s son, Solomon, for all his wisdom, continued the legacy. One king after another gave in to temptation or departed from the Lord entirely until at last God brought their kingdom to an end. Like a great tree that had been lopped off, the line of David’s father Jesse had been brought low.

Yet, the prophet promised that from the stump new life would come. Growing up in the forested parts of the Pacific Northwest, I saw this often – a tree, broken off or cut down, yet the roots still have life, and new shoots grow up from them around the old stump. For David’s line, the root that gave his family life was the Lord, and the Lord himself would be the shoot that would grow from the stump.

The Messiah, born into the family of David, raised by a descendant of David, was the branch the prophet spoke of. His divine life flowed through the dead stump of David’s line and bore the fruit of righteousness that God demands. When God goes to that stump to look for fruit, he will find it. Not because of the greatness of David, or the wisdom of Solomon, or any merit of Jesse and his descendants, but because of the branch that is the root – Jesus.

My life tells a similar story. Like David, I have followed the lust of my sinful flesh. Like Solomon, I have forsaken Godly wisdom for worldly pursuits. Like Jesse’s descendants, I have turned from the Lord and turned toward whatever seems right in my own eyes. I am a stump – cut down, brought low.

Yet, the root that gives me life is the Root of Jesse. He is the root that never withers. His righteousness is mine, and when God comes to my stump looking for fruit, the Branch will provide it. Jesus, a better king than David, restores the glory to Jesse’s line. Jesus, the Root of Jesse, is the sign that God makes all things new. Jesus, the Branch the Bears Fruit, is our righteousness, our substitute, and our everlasting peace with the Father.

Prayer: O Root of Jesse, I ask that you would grow in my heart and give me new life. Bear your righteous fruit and make me pleasing before your Father. Free me from sin, death, and the devil, and bring me at last to your kingdom of glory. Amen.