Monday, November 30, 2009

Jesse Tree

 

One of our family traditions for advent is to find, bring home and decorate a Jesse Tree.  This year we went out to Normand’s Aunt Inky’s property in the Carenro to find our tree and evergreen boughs for our Advent wreath.  We always enjoy walking around her property making memories with our kids.  We took the three little kids this year.

Jesse Tree 1jpg-001 Jesse Tree 2jpg-002

 Jesse Tree 3 jpg-003

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pictures 170-007

 pictures 169-006

There shall come forth a shoot
from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

Isaiah 11:1

The Jesse Tree is a beautiful anticipatory tradition for the great feast of Our Lord's Nativity.  A visual representation of the family tree of Jesus, the Jesse Tree offers the family a yearly opportunity to spend time with the great cloud of witnesses that St. Paul spoke of in his epistle to the Hebrews.   And since the Old Testament should never be read in isolation, but always in light of the New, the tradition of the Jesse Tree offers that view into the Old, always illuminated by the Light of Bethlehem. 

You can download images for your Jesse Tree here.  I found the scripture list here.

JESSE TREE SCRIPTURES (The symbols are only suggestions)

December 1 Creation: Gen. 1:1-31; 2:1-4 Symbols: sun, moon, stars, animals, earth

December 2 Adam and Eve: Gen. 2:7-9, 18-24 Symbols: tree, man, woman

December 3 Fall of Man: Gen. 3:1-7 and 23-24 Symbols: tree, serpent, apple with bite

December 4 Noah: Gen. 6:5-8, 13-22; 7:17, 23, 24; 8:1, 6-22 Symbols: ark, animals, dove, rainbow

December 5 Abraham: Gen. 12:1-3 Symbols: torch, sword, mountain

December 6 Isaac: Gen. 22:1-14 Symbols: bundle of wood, altar, ram in bush

December 7 Jacob: Gen. 25:1-34; 28:10-15 Symbols: kettle, ladder

December 8 Joseph: Gen. 37:23-28; 45:3-15 Symbols: bucket, well, silver coins, tunic

December 9 Moses: Ex. 2:1-10 Symbols: baby in basket, river and rushes

December 10 Samuel: 1 Sam. 3:1-18 Symbols: lamp, temple

December 11 Jesse: 1 Sam. 16:1-13 Symbols: crimson robe, shepherd's staff

December 12 David: 1 Sam. 17:12-51 Symbols: slingshot, 6-pointed star

December 13 Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28 Symbols: scales of justice, temple, two babies and sword

December 14 Joseph: Matt. 1:18-25 Symbols: hammer, saw, chisel, angle

December 15 Mary: Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38 Symbols: lily, crown of stars, pierced heart

December 16 John the Baptist: Mark 1:1-8 Symbols: shell with water, river

On December 17, the Church begins to intensify the preparation for Christmas with the use of the "O" Antiphons during the Liturgy of the Hours. The symbols for the Jesse Tree from December 17 to 23 are based on the "O" Antiphons.  Click on the link to find them.

December 17 Jesus is Wisdom: Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus in old Bibles) 24:2; Wisdom 8:1 Symbols: oil lamp, open book

December 18 Jesus is Lord: Ex. 3:2; 20:1 Symbols: burning bush, stone tablets

December 19 Jesus is Flower of Jesse: Isaiah 11:1-3 Symbols: flower, plant with flower

December 20 Jesus is Key of David: Isaiah 22:22 Symbols: key, broken chains

December 21 Jesus is the Radiant Dawn: Psalm 19:6-7 (in older Bibles this will be Psalm 18) Symbols: sun rising or high in sky

December 22 Jesus is King of the Gentiles: Psalm 2:7-8; Ephesians 2:14-20 Symbols: crown, scepter

December 23 Jesus is Emmanuel: Isaiah 7:14; 33:22 Symbols: tablets of stone, chalice and host

December 24 Jesus is Light of the World: John 1:1-14 Symbols: candle, flame, sun

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