The Branch of Jesse's Tree

Lectionary Readings

Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72
Romans 15:1-13
Matthews 3:1-12

Tithe Poem

The Holy Mountain | Isaiah 11; Hebrews 4

As you trod upon this holy mount,
assuming you have chosen
to heed the invitation,
you should feel fear.

It is uncanny to see the wolf lie with the lamb.
There is a certain dread in a lion eating hay.
What else can be true if the cankered stump
gives forth fresh sprouts and the child
can play peek-a-boo with the viper’s den?
What else can be true if those you despise
come to you eager to reconcile and embrace?

This is no fear to fear,
but a healthy haunting—
the sense that something here,
someone here, someone everywhere
watches, and knows, and cares
for you. For your virtues and evils,
your greatest woes and bursting joys.
On this mountain you shall know the truth:
You are naked and exposed before
the eyes of him to whom you
you must give a full account
of your waking and your sleeping hours.

And yet, this truth is deeper still:
he who watches and gives judgement
sits upon a throne of grace instead of wrath.

By the shade of the branch of Jesse
we have come to this holy mount,
assuming you have chosen to come
and tremble on this uncanny, holy mount.