Symbols: The Jesse Tree

The Jesse Tree

We all know what a Family Tree is. It is where we trace back our ancestors and our family history. It is from our family that we first come to know who we are:

* it is from and within our family that we learn and know what love is
* it is from within the family that we find a home
* we feel safe and protected within the family circle.

But we belong to another family as well. We belong to God’s family. And that family too has its history and its ancestors in faith.

So during these four weeks before Christmas, which the Church calls Advent - we, the family of faith trace our family tree - The Jesse Tree. On it we place symbols of our ancestors in faith and of some of the big events in their lives - events that have shaped our lives.

We trace God's promise of a Saviour, going back to the very beginning of Creation and we end on Christmas Eve when we place the final symbol of the Birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.

History of the Jesse Tree
In the eighth century before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah foretold the nature and virtues of the Messiah - he was to be a descendant of King David, whose father was called Jesse.

A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him;
a spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
a spirit of counsel and of strength,
a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord.
Is11:13

The artists of the Middle Ages drew on this text of Isaiah for the theme of the Tree of Jesse. It was this tradition that guided many artists when the subject first became popular in the first half of the twelfth century.

The first notable example is attributed to Abbot Suger (1081-1151). In 1144, he commissioned a stained-glass window for the Abbey of St. Denis near Paris. Unfortunately this window was destroyed in the course of time but a version (25ft x 9ft) was installed in Chartres Cathedral in 1150 and this survives intact to this day.

In this window, a tree grows from a sleeping Jesse. Along the trunk, a number of kings of Judah are shown. Along the branches, stand the prophets who preached the coming of the Messiah.

The popularity of the Jesse Tree however declined towards the end of the sixteenth century. It was not until 1949, when an American nun decided to develop the Jesse theme in what we now call the Jesse Tree.

The Symbols
To get a clearer understanding of the meaning of the symbol read the particular Scripture passage.

Symbol	Significance	Person or Event in Scripture
Sun, Moon, Star, World	Creation Gen 1:1-2:2	So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them . . . God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good.
Tree, Apple & Angel	The Fall & The Promise Gen 3:1-15	They heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord. . .
Ark & Olive Branch	Noah & the Flood Gen 6:9-22	But I will establish my covenant with you; and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you.
Stars	Abraham & the Covenant Gen 12:1-18	I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
Altar with Fire	Sacrifice of Isaac Gen 22:1-18	Abraham said, "God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offering, my son."
Ladder	Jacob Gen 28:10-18	Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place - and I did not know it."
Coat	Joseph Gen 37:2-11	Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children . . . . .he made a long robe with sleeves.
Burning Bush	Moses Ex 3:1-12	Then the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed . . . God called him out of the bush. "Moses, Moses!"And he said, "Here I am."
Lamb	Passover Ex 12:1-4	Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of the month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household . . .
Basket	Manna Ex 16:1-16	Moses said to them, "lt is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. . . . ."
Tablets	Commandments Ex 20:1-21,24:3-8	And all the people answered with one voice and said "All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do". And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord.
Trumpets	Joshua Num 27:15-23	He laid his hands on him and commissioned him - as the Lord had directed through Moses.
Sheaf of Wheat	Ruth Ruth 1:1-22	"Where you go, I will go; Where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people and your God my God."
Star, Harp	David 1Sam 16:1-13	. . and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.
Crown	Solomon 1Kgs 3:4-15	Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern good and evil.
Scroll	Isaiah Is 1:1-20 Is 5:1-7	Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doing from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.
Hand	Jeremiah Jer 1:1-10	Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth".
Angel	Ezekiel Ex 11:17-21	I will give them one heart, and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow my statutes and keep my ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be my people and I will be their God.
Lion	Daniel Dan 3: 1-30	Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him. They disobeyed the king’s command and delivered up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God.
Scroll	Wisdom Prov 8:22-31	O Wisdom, you come forth from the mouth of the Most High. You fill the universe and hold all things together in a strong yet gentle manner. O come to teach us the way of truth.
Sceptre	Lord Duet 30:15-20	O Adonai and leader of Israel, you appeared to Moses in a burning bush and you gave him the Law on Sinai. O come and save us with your mighty power.
Flower on Stem	Flower of Jesse Is 11:1-9	O stock of Jesse, you stand as a signal for the nations; kings fall silent before you whom the peoples acclaim, O come to deliver us, and do not delay.
Key	Key of David Is 22:22	O Key of David and sceptre of Israel, what you open no one can close again; what you close no one can open. O come and lead the captives from prison; free those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Rising Sun	Radiant Dawn Lk 1:78	O Rising Sun, you are the splendour of eternal light and the sun of justice. O come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
Crown	King Ezek 34:11-17	O King whom all peoples desire, you are the cornerstone which makes all one. O come and save humanity whom you made from clay.
Letter E	Immanuel Is 7:14	O Immanuel, you are our king and judge, the One whom the peoples await and their Saviour. O Come and save us, Lord, our God.
Shell	John the Baptist Mt 3: 1-3	In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea, saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: “A voice of one crying in the desert, ‘prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths’.”
Letter M	Mary Lk 1:26 38	. . . And the angel said, “Hail, favoured one! The Lord is with you. . . . Behold you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall name him Jesus. . . . . Mary said “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. ”
Saw	Joseph Mt 1: 18-26	. . “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take May your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her . . . .” he did as the angel had commanded and took his wife into his home.