Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. (Isaiah 11:1 NLT)
Delayed hope makes one sick at heart, but a fulfilled longing is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 GW)
A tree stump is a representation of what was. There used to be a tree in that spot. But, currently, only the stump remains of that tree. Whether the tree had been big or small, whether cut down or blown down, it is no longer attached to the stump.
What do you do when you feel like your life has been reduced to a stump of what it used to be?
Under the stump are roots that once fed water and nutrients into that tree. The roots are still there. Some may be alive.
How do you connect in with what used to feed and enrich you – words, relationships, activities – when all that seems buried under what’s left of life?
This first Sunday of Advent is an opportunity to recenter on HOPE.
Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) says that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” I would argue that without hope people perish.
Hope implies a belief that sometime in the future there will be an improvement. Humans have survived terrible experiences when they have held on to hope.
The Israelites—rescued from Egyptian slavery, given a Promised Land, exiled to foreign nations, and eventually brought back home—held onto the hope that after all their trials, God would send a king from David’s line to restore their nation to greatness. Throughout their hardships, their deep spiritual roots and strong sense of heritage kept them from losing hope. If God could give Abram and Sarai a child in their old age, deliver Israel from Egypt through plagues and miracles, and empower them to defeat the giants in the Promised Land, then surely he could also provide a Messiah-King who would rescue and restore them.
Rescue and restore.
How can a stump of a tree be rescued or restored? Once something is cut down, it is dead, right?
What if it isn’t?
What if the roots are still active and are creating new life? What if there will be a new shoot growing out of the old tree stump?
Isaiah prophesied that a new branch that bears fruit would grow from the old root. For centuries, believers held onto this hope. When Jesus the Messiah-King came as a baby into a tiny Jewish community in Israel, he was the New Shoot coming from the stump of King David’s Ancient Israel.
Two thousand years later, that initial tiny “shoot” of a new understanding of God – a fulfillment of the Old Testament, but an expansion of our ideas about God’s Kingdom of Love – has grown. No longer is this shoot of the Church just twelve apostles and tens of followers around a unique rabbi. The Holy Spirit that infused these first-generation believers with courage and fire continues to call today’s people to this radical relationship with God. Believing and receiving the gift of salvation through faith is a great start. But the righteousness, peace, and joy that come from life lived with Christ are so much more.
Two thousand years later, that small “shoot” of new understanding—a fulfillment of the Old Testament and an expansion of how we see God’s Kingdom of Love—has grown. What began as a handful of apostles and a few dozen followers gathered around a remarkable rabbi has become the global Church. The same Holy Spirit who filled those first believers with courage and fire continues to call people today into a radical relationship with God. Believing and receiving salvation through faith is a beautiful beginning, but the righteousness, peace, and joy that come from living life with Christ are far greater still.
God gives us hope, even when life seems like a stump.
From a stump comes life.
From that life comes abundance.
Thank you, God, for HOPE. AMEN.
Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)
Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law. (Proverbs 29:18 NKJV)