Seventh Day In The Octave of Christmas – 2017

The Future Glory of the Survivors in Zion

December 31, 2017

2 “On that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and glory of the survivors of Israel. Whoever is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who has been recorded for life in Jerusalem,” ~ Isaiah 4:2-3 (NRSVACE) 

Ant.  Christ is born for us; come, let us adore him.

Isaiah in many ways had an unmistakable and colorful code to his writings. He stands alone in how his vivid portrait of the future would come about. In fact, many scholars take into account the effort it took to write with such boldness and yet poetically layout Gods divine plan shown him through dreams.  Isaiah’s prophecies are the very fabric of that links the Old Testament, old world views, to that of the New Testament; leading us straight to Jesus Christ and the New Covenant with mankind. The colorful language Isaiah used here, ‘the branch of the Lord,’ is a bold reference to that which Jehovah made grow. Giving authorship of the creation of everything including the plan of salvation to God alone. But in breaking this down even further we see a word in this short section of scripture, ‘branch’ which is referenced throughout the Old Testament, beginning with Isaiah 11:1 where the word, ‘shoot’, is used in reference to The Root of Jesse. It is linked to Jeremiah 23:5 in reference to the word, ‘Branch’ talking about King David. Again in Jeremiah 33:15 the word, ‘Branch’ is used. In Zechariah 3:8 the word, ‘Branch’, in reference to things to come as laid out directly to Josuah, the high priest. Finally, the word ‘Branch’ is used to reference the coronation of the Branch in Zachariah 6:12. Here, then, if we thus interpret the words, ‘Branch and Shoot’,  we have the first distinct prophecy in Isaiah of a personal Messiah! My brothers and sisters, Isaiah (750-695 BC), Jeremiah (628-588 BC), and Zachariah (520-510 BC) all three connect the dots using the same code of speech over time. Jesus Christ is the “Branch of Jehovah,” and within the coming of Jesus, we can look back to the Octave of Christmas which in the Roman Catholic Liturgical Calendar is the countdown to The Eighth Octave of Christmas, Mary, Mother of God where we celebrate this very prophecy come to fruition.

On That Day!

“The Lord has made known, alleluia, alleluia! On that day a marvelous exchange had taken place, God man’s creator has become man, born of a virgin!” ~ Solemnity Evening Prayer, The Liturgy of the Hours, pg.172-173.

This is one of the mysteries of Christ’s life that is celebrated because this is when we as human beings became shareholders in eternity; this is the divinity of Christ who so humbled himself for us so that we have the hope of salvation through Him! In many ways, as we celebrate this event we are also celebrating Christ’s return or the Second Advent. It is this that John so poetically wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.” ~ John 3:16and who also wrote about meeting Christ in Heaven, 12 “Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest.” ~ Revelation 1:12-13 (NRSVACE). We celebrate because the promise of salvation is now, it is upon us! We have not only been saved by Christ’s birth, life, death, and resurrection but are also recipients of His mercy, forgiveness, love, and His devotion! The point is that Jesus desired to become our brother by being born of the Virgin Mary, to enter into a sinful world, to teach us how to love one another as brothers, and who willingly died for our sins. So, I say to you my brothers and sisters, rejoice and pray, love each other as Christ has loved you, celebrate this day of freedom and salvation, and remember that it all was done by God’s desire to save the human race from ourselves! 

Celebration of a New Year

On this note, as I write this last blog of 2017 I wanted to mention all the people from around the world who made this year so special for me by becoming subscribers. With that said, Happy New Year everyone, and thank you for reading and commenting and voting. The stats show we need only 39 more views to make December the highest ranking of all the month of 2017. So, I humbly ask for you to share this blog with as many people with the utmost urgency as possible at such a late hour!

I also ask that you consider subscribing to our mailing list so you may receive this New Years Prayers and inspiring devotionals each month. Click Here!

I especially want to thank the top 20 countries which have visited Listening Faithfully Blog:

  1. The USA – 1407
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  3. Italy – 106 (the Biggest increase from 2016 up from 17 views) Special Thank You!
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  20. Spain – 14

Amen, Alleluia!

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Sancte Ioseph – ‘ora pro nobis,’

 

Listening Faithfully Blog written by Brian K. Stark © 2009-2017

Roots of Jesse – Guest Edition

An Older Symbol of Advent

What is the Jesse Tree? ~ by Winter

December 23, 2017 – Third Saturday of Advent

11 “A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” ~ Isaiah 11:1 (NRSVACE)

Jesse was the father of King David. The ornaments of the Jesse tree represent the prophecies, God’s people, and events that led up to the birth of Jesus.

When I was a child every December my dad would put up the Christmas Tree and we would decorate with very cute ornaments, I didn’t think much about the ornaments at the time. There were pretty little harps, an apple, ark, dove etc. As I grew older and attended bible class I made the connection that the ornaments we decorated our Christmas Tree with symbolized the stories and characters of the Old Testament. During the Advent season, we are called to wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ. Like in everything in life we need to prepare. You might question yourself, ‘How can I prepare for this momentous event?’ or maybe, ‘What do I do first in order that I will be prepared adequately?’ As a child, my dad taught me our faith, what we needed to do to be prepared. In fact, from an early age, I remember thinking deeply about the events of the bible and how the Bible tells us the stories of preparation that the people of God underwent while waiting for His miracles to be fullfilled.

Other memories I have during Advent was going to church every Sunday and listening to the priest remind the whole community to pray, repent, forgive so we can receive Jesus Christ; receive His precious gifts of hope, peace, joy, and of love. As practicing  Catholics and followers of Christ we are called to share those gifts with the rest of the world, so that way our world of jealousy and gossip can come to an end. God made a promise to Abraham’s family that He would bless his family and would always protect them. We follow God because He is the only one that will give us what we need when we feel alone, sad, depressed, hurt, or upset. God comforts us and He protects us just as He did Abraham’s many descendants. Advent is a time to really think about these things; to take the lessons of the Old Testament and apply them to our lives today. Each time I do this I can see how much in common we are with the characters found in the bible.

As a teacher myself I am always humbled and reminded how much my kids at school are like I was when I was their age, they ask the same questions such as, “but it is hard to follow Jesus’s steps” I always remind them that, “Yes, no one said it was easy and for Jesus himself it was not easy. But what we need to do is to be in constant prayer so we can always choose God.” After saying this another student said, “Advent is about change.” Smiling I encouraged that thought with,  “Yes, during Advent we are called to change and renew our hearts just like God’s people from the Old Testament.”

When we decide to choose God we receive many blessings from Him. That is why the Jesse Tree is another important symbol for the Advent Season; so the kids can understand that each ornament is much more than just decoration, instead, it is the family tree of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.

Powerful Teaching Tool: You might want to go over your own chronological family tree with your kids at home. Using this model they will begin to relate it to the family of Jesus.

Jesse Tree symbols and passages in the Old Testament were designed to show how the coming of Jesus had been predicted hundreds of years before his birth fulfilling them within the New Testament. When decorating your tree beginning on the first day of Advent place the first ornament. Each day after that in order until Christmas Eve until each ornament is on the tree. Below are the symbols traditionally used to put on the Jesse Tree;

  1. Adam and Eve – Ornament: Tree with Fruit or Apple
  2. Noah – Ornament: Rainbow or Ark
  3. Abraham – Ornament: Field of Stars
  4. Isaac – Ornament: Ram
  5. Jacob – Ornament: Ladder
  6. Joseph – Ornament: Coat of Many Colors
  7. Moses – Ornament: Burning Bush
  8. The Israelites – Ornament: Lamb
  9. Moses and Aaron – Ornament: Tablets of the Torah
  10. Joshua – Ornament: Ram’s Horn Trumpet
  11. Samuel – Ornament: Crown
  12. David – Ornament: Shepherd’s Crook or Harp
  13. Hezekiah – Ornament: An Empty Tent
  14. Isaiah – Ornament: Fire Tongs with Hot Coal
  15. Jeremiah – Ornament: Tears
  16. Habakkuk – Ornament: Stone Watchtower
  17. Nehemiah – Ornament: City Wall
  18. John the Baptist – Ornament: Scallop Shell
  19. Mary – Ornament: White Lily
  20. Elizabeth – Ornament: Mother and Child
  21. Zechariah – Ornament: Pencil and Tablet
  22. Joseph – Ornament: Carpenter’s Square or Hammer
  23. Jesus – Ornament: Manager
  24. Christ – Ornament: Chi-Rho

Christmas Traditions of the Jesse Tree  Click Here

The Jesse Tree – Loyola Press  Click Here

Amen, Alleluia!

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Primary Goal: To Always Image Christ in Mind, Heart, Body, and Soul.

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“Let’s grow together as children of God” 

Sancte Ioseph – ‘ora pro nobis,’

 

 

 

 

 

 

Listening Faithfully Blog written by Brian K. Stark © 2009-2017