Friday the 19th: Daniel

 Daniel the prophet was thrown into a lion's den but the lion refused to eat him. May be have the bravery of Daniel that we will be protected.

 

 

Thursday the 18th: O Adonai

 Reflection: https://christianheritagecentre.com/media/advent-antiphons-o-adonai/

The word “Adonai” is a particular Hebrew term for “Lord”. Yet it is retained in the original Latin antiphon, rather than being translated to “Dominus”. The term is only used twice in the Vulgate (Latin) Bible. The only explanation for its usage in the antiphon is the author’s intended acrostic (see here)!

The first time “Adonai” is used in the Bible is when God reveals His name as “the LORD” to Moses. And so this second antiphon points us to the second essential thing that we, with our Jewish ancestors, can say about God: He is the Lawgiver.

The Latin words that refer to the Lord’s appearance in the burning bush are not taken directly from Exodus, but are a literal quotation from St Stephen’s speech in the Acts of the Apostles. Thus a discrete reference is inserted to the New Testament and to Christ.

The words either side of that phrase – referring to the leader of Israel and the Law on Sinai – are not found directly anywhere in the Old Testament, although they refer to Israel’s exodus from Egypt and to the Covenant formed with them. Equally, the last phrase, “Come and save us…” seems to refer to Moses’ song of thanksgiving after the crossing of the Red Sea.

So how does all this relate to Christmas? According to ancient Christian tradition, the revelation of the Old Testament was considered to be the Revelation, however veiled, of the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. The God Who spoke to our ancestors spoke through His Word, Who becomes incarnate in the Christmas mystery. Hence Catholic theology has always seen a spiritual prefigurement or foreshadowing of the New Testament in the physical events of the Old Testament.

The leader of Israel, the One Who sets us free from the land of slavery, Who leads us through the waters of Baptism that wipe away all evil, and Who forms an irrevocable covenant in His blood on the mount, is Christ the Lord: the One Whose coming we await.

 

 

Thursday the 17th: O Wisdom

Reflection from https://anglicancompass.com/o-sapientia-o-wisdom-from-on-high/:  Why is Wisdom—or in Latin, Sapientia—the first of the seven “O Antiphons?” Because this is Wisdom from on high: the divine, personified Wisdom, who was present at the creation of the world. In other words, we begin our song with Wisdom, because she was singing at our beginning! And yes, we sing also of the human wisdom that we need, accepting that we must learn it at her feet. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10, Proverbs 9:10).

 

 

Tuesday the 16th: Call of Isaiah

 Reflection: The fire tongs and hot coal are placed on the Jesse Tree today. We recall the prophet Isaiah today and his call to Judah to be a holy people. The book of Isaiah is full of prophecies about the coming Messiah.

In the first chapter, we see a shift in the way the people are asked to act out their faithfulness. In earlier books we see God asking for sacrifices and offerings, we see the people being called to prayer and worship. In Isaiah we hear God calling for justice for all people, and care for the poor as a way for the people to show their love: "When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow." (Isa 1: 15-17)

Today, think of someone you encounter who is in need of justice or defense. If you cannot think of someone  you know personally, consider making a donation to a food bank, or to a shelter. Look for ways to bring justice to the world. (https://reillyschurchsup.blogspot.com/2010/12/jesse-tree-3rd-wednesday-isaiah-call-to.html)

( https://angathome.com/2011/11/25/our-jesse-tree-symbols-and-readings-for-advent/)

 

Monday the 15th: Elijah the prophet

 Reflection: Elijah was the greatest of the prophets who defended the honor of the Lord on Mt. Carmel. It is in his spirit that the precursor of the Lord was to come. And Elisha dared to ask for a double portion of his spirit. Elisha’s request was very bold. Do you ask bold things of God? Do you have the confidence to ask big things of God? The Lord is generous and wants a heart big enough to ask for things in accord with his desire to grant them. (https://www.omvusa.org/st-francis-chapel/jesse-tree-advent-day-16/)

 (Picture from pinterest of the altar soaked in water that Elijah called down fire upon)

 

Friday the 12th: David and Goliath

 Such a weird story, right? A shepherd boy defeats a giant by hitting him in the head with a stone out of a slingshot, stunning him, and then cutting off his head. You have to wonder how much of it is real (historically real) and how much is a story passed down to remind us that God is always bigger than our enemies even when He feels smaller and seems to be taking his sweet time to defend us.

 (https://themacandcheesechronicles.com/2007/11/26/jesse-tree-ornaments/)

 

Thursday the 11th: The Shepherd-King

 Samuel was a prophet who witnessed to the evolution of Israel into a nation ruled by a king. The first king was Saul, but the greatest king was his successor, David. David was the youngest son of Jesse and until anointed by the Holy Spirit a simple shepherd boy. Samuel was called to recognize David's true calling and anoint him to lead Israel. David himself, like Saul, fell short of his true dignity but was able to repent fully before God for his sins.

 (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/358599189080969302/)

 

Wednesday the 10th: Joshua

 Joshua is the Israelite leader who actually took the Israelites from the desert into the Promised Land. He blew the ram's horn symbolized here to bring down the walls of Jericho as the Israelites conquered and took control of the area.

 (https://festalcelebrations.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/more-ornaments/)

 

Tuesday the 9th: Moses and the 10 Commandments

 Today's symbol is for the 10 Commandments, given to Moses at Mount Sinai to help the Israelites know how to live in relationship with God. God's guidelines helped a people who had forgotten how to live in the knowledge of being guided by God.

( https://www.pinterest.com/pin/358599189080916895/)

 

Monday the 8th: Jesse Tree Day 9

Reflection from https://www.omvusa.org/st-francis-chapel/jesse-tree-advent-day-7/: 

The coat of many colors was a gift from father to son to emphasize the great love with which Jacob loved Joseph. Ornamented coats were signs of great honor and privilege in the time of the Jewish patriarchs. You are greatly loved and favored by the Father who has clothed you in the grace of his only Son through baptism. Do you celebrate your baptismal day? Do you renew your baptismal vows on occasion? Do you “wear” your baptismal identity as a child of God over all your other clothes? 

 

 (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wKiswME5Nmw/TOdAwenRZuI/AAAAAAAAB8I/tIxuynJJ-dk/s1600/joseph+coat.jpg)

 

 

Friday the 5th: Jesse Tree Jacob's Ladder

 Reflection taken from Aleteia.org:

Jacob saw a ladder in a dream; and on a ladder he saw angels ascending and descending: and he anointed the stone which he had placed at his head. You have heard that the Messiah is Christ; you have heard that Christ is the Anointed. For Jacob did not place the stone, the anointed stone, that he might come and adore it: otherwise that would have been idolatry, not a pointing out of Christ. What was done was a pointing out of Christ, so far as it behooved such a pointing out to be made, and it was Christ that was pointed out. A stone was anointed, but not for an idol. A stone anointed; why a stone? Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, elect, precious: and he that believes in Him shall not be confounded. Why anointed? Because Christus comes from chrisma. But what saw he then on the ladder? Ascending and descending angels. So it is the Church, brethren: the angels of God are good preachers, preaching Christ; this is the meaning of, they ascend and descend upon the Son of man. 

(St. Augustine, Tractate 7)

 

 (Picture from https://festalcelebrations.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/jesse-tree-project-2008/)

 

Thursday the 4th: Isaac and the Sacrifice

 Reflection on today from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate:

Reflection: By asking for Isaac to be offered as a sacrifice, God was not playing with Abraham’s emotions, nor simply testing his willingness to obey. Isaac was the son of the promise. He was the first descendant from whom all other descendants would come, including Jesus; therefore, Isaac was a symbol of the whole future of Israel and of salvation history. God was asking Abraham to offer to him and to entrust to him the destiny of Israel and its history. That was the real sacrifice God wished for, not the slaying of Isaac. By restoring Isaac to his father, God was showing that anyone who entrusts their destiny to him will always be restored and have fullness of life. https://www.omvusa.org/st-francis-chapel/jesse-tree-advent-day-5/ 

 https://faithandfabricdesign.com/2013/06/jesse-tree-abraham-isaac-ram.html

 

Tuesday the 2nd: The Fall

 Day 3 of the Jesse Tree is a symbol for the fall of Man, the choosing to follow our own will rather than God's will. That needs to be fleshed out because God's will is what will make us happiest and should be our will. When we choose our "will", we are acting on impulse, emotionally, not taking the full picture into account. We may be making ourselves temporarily happy but we won't achieve lasting happiness without acting in accordance with how God made us.

 

 

Monday the 1st: Jesse Tree

Today is the first Monday of Advent. For this season, I'll try to post a Jesse tree picture and reflection each day.

Today is a picture of Mary and Jesus in the middle, surrounded by various prophets and kings of the Old Testament that each prepared the way for Jesus. The season of Advent can be explored by meditating on each of these prefigurements, foreshadowings, and how each gives us a glimpse into who Jesus is.