Isaiah 11:1-10 (NRSV)
Read Isaiah 11:1-10 on biblegateway.com
Chapter 11A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. Verse 2The 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. Verse 3His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; Verse 4but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Verse 5Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins. Verse 6The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. Verse 7The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. Verse 8The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den. Verse 9They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Verse 10On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
Devotion
A reflection among biblical scholars ponders the meaning of "root of Jesse." Some understand it literally as referring to the father of King David. The one who comes arises out of the royal branch. Other scholars ponder the significance of verse 1 and the "branch of" the root of Jesse. They argue that the community itself is an expression of the root. This second interpretation holds much potential and is certainly not in contradiction to the first. What does it mean for us today to consider the faith community itself as a sign, as an ongoing sign of God's marvelous deed, God’s coming, God's incarnation in Jesus Christ? In fact, our faith communities are called to be that witness, the living body of Christ in the world, for the neighbor. In this context, we repeat the prayer spoken at every baptism as we invoke the Holy Spirit on the newly baptized:
Prayer
O God, sustain us with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.