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Christmas 2002


Promise becomes alive

By EDWARD HAYS

The Jesse tree is an evergreen sign of God’s ability to sprout a new divine dream after it has been cut back and apparently destroyed. Old Jesse of Bethlehem was the father of David, who became king of Israel and whose dynasty rule was promised to last forever. Generations after David, Babylonians chopped down that royal family tree, destroyed Solomon’s temple and carried off the Jewish elite into exile in Babylon. In their mournful exile, the prophet Isaiah -- shown in the lower branches on the right side of this Jesse tree -- sang a song of hope, pointing toward a promised prophecy: “A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom.” In his arm Isaiah is pictured holding the scrolls of the other prophets and proclaiming the name of the promise to be Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”

Back at the beginning, God promised a Savior to Adam and Eve, whose disobedience and failure to love is signified by the half-eaten apple and the serpent curling in the tree’s roots. John the Baptist, the prophet of the Jordan -- shown in the lower branches on the left -- is the patron saint of Advent preparation, having announced a baptism of repentance to prepare the way for the Savior. Above him, playing the harp, is King David, the ancestor of Joseph the carpenter of Nazareth, who would be known as the father of Jesus.

In the center of the tree is the Advent wreath, its candles counting time. Out of the wreath rises St. Nicholas, the patron saint of gift-giving, whose feast is celebrated early in Advent.

To his right is Mary of Nazareth, with the archangel Gabriel announcing to her that she has been chosen to be the mother of the Savior by the power of the Holy Spirit. Above her is the imperial Caesar Augustus ordering a Roman census of the world in which each subject was to return to his home village to be registered. So Joseph of the house of David of Bethelehem took his pregnant wife from Nazareth to register in his family’s “Little Town,” shown at the base of the Christmas tree.

Over the night-shrouded hills, an angel points the way to frightened shepherds toward the village where Mary had given birth to their long-awaited Savior. Opposite them in the tree are the Magi kings and the great star that had led them to Bethlehem to present their gifts to the infant Prince of Peace.

The lower branches of the tree are covered with the purple leaves of Advent longing and preparation for the arrival of God’s Promise. When the Promise becomes alive in Mary’s womb, the leaves turn to vibrant joyful green, and their top branches curve into the Christmas tree on which reigns the infant Savior wrapped in swaddling bands as foretold to the shepherds. The apple of Adam and Eve, a bitter sign of disobedience, is replaced at the top by golden and orange ornaments, representing the fruit of the Christ Child, whose arms are spread outward in a world-encompassing blessing.

A sampling of Ed Hays’ books
Each book by Fr. Ed Hays is likely to turn upside down the reader’s ideas of holiness and spirituality -- and enlighten and entertain in the process.

Feathers on the Wind

The Great Escape Manual: Spirituality of Liberation

Holy Fools and Mad Hatters: A Handbook for Hobbyhorse Holiness

Pray All Ways

A Pilgrim’s Almanac: Reflections for Each Day of the Year

Psalms for Zero Gravity: Prayers for Life’s Emigrants

Secular Sanctity: Reflections on Finding God in the Midst of Everyday Life

His books are available from Forest of Peace Publishing: www.forestofpeace.com or phone: 800-659-3227

National Catholic Reporter, December 20, 2002