Names of Advent and Ourselves

"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1

---

What an interesting way to begin our Advent season -- with a stump and some roots. Did you know this is one of the many names we call Jesus? The Shoot of Jesse.

This name derives from a passage in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah was a prophet who lived 250 years after the great reign of King David, and these were some horrible times. The people were suffering, mostly due to the decisions of their corrupt leadership. On top of political turmoil and oppression, the Assyrians were at their very doorstep, threatening violence and destruction. Pining for better days, the days of David that God had promised would come again, Isaiah warns of judgement against arrogant rulers and violent nations, comparing Assyria to a massive felled forest, which sets up imagery for a new name to arise:

• A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse (who was the father of King David)

• A branch shall grow out of his roots

• He shall judge for the poor and decide with equity for the oppressed of the earth

• A ruler who brings justice and peace, righteousness and faithfulness

And with this coming King, the roots of this nearly lifeless stump will grow and grow and grow into something wondrous:

• A time when wolf shall live with lamb,

• the calf and lion will feed together, a child leading them.

• A time when infants shall play over serpent dens and not be hurt.

• A time when all come to the holy mountain to be filled with God's knowledge.

• And on that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples...

Isaiah was promising a time of safety and knowledge. Prosperity. Wisdom. Righteousness. Light. Hope. Peace. Joy. Love. Christ.

Does the 'Shoot of Jesse' mean a little bit more now?

Although it's just one of the many names we call Jesus in this time of Advent.

How about 'Prince of Peace', 'God with us', 'Light of the World', 'Wonderful Counselor'? Can you think of any others? ...

What glorious and powerful names! Just thinking about them gives you a sense of what Christ means to Christians all year round and all around the world.

This brings me to the purpose of this Blog, and the message I'll be preaching this coming Sunday ---> I'd like to ask you what names you might call yourself at certain times in your life. But I don't want you to think of the good names. We lie to ourselves so often about who we are and who we could be. So what are the names we saddle ourselves with in our darkest times? Do we call ourselves cowards? Liars? Failures, stupid, dumb, fat, mean, losers...

Wow, we've sure brought ourselves down, haven't we? From the glorious shoot of Jesse back down to that dry and lifeless stump.

Due to a mean comment I received online about women in pastoral leadership, I decided to run a series this Advent season on the powerful and wonderful women leaders of the Bible. As there are just so many, I begin my study week by asking Google to find me a Biblical woman who embodies our weeks Advent theme. This weeks theme is Peace, so Google gave me Abigail, the Peacemaker.

Gasp! What an incredible name, I thought to myself. And not just because it's mine--haha! No, it wasn't Abigail that caught my attention but the name that followed. Peacemaker. I just could not get over it. Peacemaker. Peacemaker. Now that's a name I would like to embody!

What if we changed all those negative titles we so often give ourselves to something more gasp-worthy, like Peacemaker? Or Great Listener, or Forgiver, Healer, Leader, Faithful, Kind, Do-er? We could even think outside the box with a. name like 'Sit With-er'-- for someone who can just sit and be and listen and comfort.

Did you notice I'm not including the Christian names we so often go to, like Forgiven, Healed, Redeemed, Beloved, Child of God? These are names of faith we often find comfort in, even names God has given us. But the kind of names I'm thinking of are ones of action. Verbs. We are called to be active members of the church and the Kin-dom of God after all.

So what amazingly hopeful and active names might you give yourself today? Foregoing all those dark titles we so awfully christen ourselves with. Throw them away, I say! And remember that the Light of the World, Prince of Peace, shoot of Jesse has come to fill us with God's knowledge to grow and change us into amazing Forgivers, Lovers, Healers, Givers, Hand Holders. Sit With-er's ... And Peacemakers 🕊️

~Abigail