A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
   and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
The 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.
His 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;
but 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.
Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
   and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

The 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.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
   their young shall lie down together;
   and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
   and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They 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.

On 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.
                                (cf Isaiah 11: 1-10 NRSV)

Picture from the nuns at
Turvey Abbey

Reflection

The One on whom the Spirit of the Lord rests will establish a kingdom of peace and harmony - not just between peoples but between species! An astonishing vision of a world restored to the integrity of God's Creation.

In what way might you work to establish such a kingdom where stewardship of the earth and its bio-diversity are seen as the building of the Kingdom?
Write down - or copy and paste - a verse - a phrase - or an idea based on your reflection to refer to during the day.

Prayer

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.

The O Antiphon introduces the Magnificat in Evening Prayer between 17 and 23 December. You may like to include that in your prayer today.

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