Dear Rose Park,
Living in Michigan, we are fortunate enough to be surrounded by beautiful trees: great big oaks, prickly pines, and colorful maples cover over 50 % of the entire state. Did you know the state tree of Michigan is the Eastern White Pine, the most abundant trees in Michigan are maples, and that most of the lumber used to construct Chicago after the Great Fire of 1871 came from Michigan? This is all to say, we are surrounded by beautiful, strong, and giving trees.
But a few weeks ago, I stood in the backyard with Rog Wolters and Jack Hartman staring at a crab apple tree. The crab apple tree isn’t very beautiful and its fruit doesn’t mix well with my lawn mower, hence why Jack’s chainsaw was readily available. But while we loaded the fallen limbs into Jack’s trailer, I was reminded of the Jesse Tree. Do you know what a Jesse Tree is? Have you ever heard of such a thing? If you haven’t, let me share with you what the Reformed Church offers: “the Jesse Tree is a tree branch decorated with symbols representing the stories of people in Jesus' family tree. In Isaiah 11:1 we read, "A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Jesse was the father of David, Israel's greatest king. And it was from David's lineage that Jesus came.”
The Jesse Tree is a symbol. It’s a symbol that recognizes that Christ came from a lineage; a lineage that was broken and sinful just like my lineage and your lineage. It’s a symbol that’s much closer to the crooked and gnarled branches of a crab apple tree than it is a beautiful spruce or an elegant elm. It’s a symbol that expresses God’s grace that covers our sin and brokenness. It’s a symbol that marks our anticipation for Christ’s birth. And it’s a symbol that brings our attention back to Christ.
The Jesse Tree is just one symbol for the season of Advent. We begin this season of anticipation and hope this Sunday; I’d encourage you to join us for worship during this season so that we might all return to the roots of Christ by hearing the words of the Old and New Testament. So, instead of using the Christmas calendar that has the mouse jumping from day-to-day this year, perhaps you and your family can use a Jesse Tree this year to symbolize the days of Advent and our anticipation for Christmas morning.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
If you’d like any more information on how to make a Jesse Tree or the devotions that accompany this tree check out: https://www.rca.org/jessetree