A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of His roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:1-2
“From this seed, this shoot, this flower, surely the fruit of blessing comes forth. It has come even to us; first as a seed it is planted through the grace of pardon, then germinated with the increase of perfection, and finally it flowers in the hope of the attainment of glory.”
Baldwin of Forde, Archbishop of Canterbury, a.k.a. Baldwin of Canterbury (1125-1190) in Treatise 7 as recounted Milton Walsh in Witness of the Saints: Patristic Readings in the Liturgy of the Hours (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012) 537.
I love doing research because I learn new things and discover new people. I had never read about Baldwin.
In short he studied God’s Word and theology, grew deep in his faith, set himself apart to God as a monk. From there, he preached many sermons. They got wide attention. The king insisted he serve as archbishop.
Let’s look at today’s Scripture and the words of Baldwin and consider their connection to us today.
The shoot from the stump of Jesse, that Isaiah speaks about is Jesus, the Christ of Christmas. The branch that grows from His roots represents the church. That’s you and me.
Look what rests on Jesus: the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Everything the branch needs to grow comes from Jesus.
Now consider the words of Baldwin. From Jesus, blessing comes. First we receive grace, then he works in our lives to “the increase of perfection” which just means maturity, and we get the hope of glory.
I want to push you again to share the Christ of Christmas with one person this year.
Sure, I hope you give generously this year end, and include GTP on your giving list, but also please share the gift of this shoot, this root, from which the fruit of all blessings comes with someone. As I said yesterday, “ask God for an opportunity and share boldly.”
Yesterday, I asked God to open doors to get to know our neighbors as a basis for encouraging their faith or pointing them to Jesus.
He did it! Winter weather and sickness caused only three couples or families to show up at the neighborhood holiday party. One family follows Christ. It seems the other does not. We became friends and learned that the fathers sings.
So we plan to go to his Christmas concert this Friday night and will see where the relationship goes from there.