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Tuesday 1st Week of
Advent
St. Luke’s Institute
December 2, 2014
OF SHOOTS AND TREES ++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
In
the dead of winter the trees’ skeletal fingers stretch skyward with no visible
signs of life
Ø
But
experience tells us that all is not dead
Ø
“A shoot shall sprout from the
stump of Jesse,”
asserts our 1st reading, no ifs, &s or buts about it
Ø
It
shall happen
Ø
So
if experience fails to persuade us, then faith surely should
THE REDWOOD TREE ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Consider
the redwood tree
Ø
When
only a stump remains, the tree can nevertheless regenerate
Ø
Little
sprouts shoot up from the buds of ancient, invisible roots and actually form a
circle surrounding the old stump
Ø
This
is called a “cathedral circle” and the survival of some of the buds guarantees
that the redwoods do not die
Ø
But
interestingly, those buds could never survive w/o the fog that rolls in
constantly from Pacific
Ø
The
fog itself – often perceived as a nuisance – carries the potential for future
revival and new growth
THE ROMAN CHURCH +++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Not
very long ago, many Christians felt that their hopes for the Church had been
felled like a giant redwood tree
Ø
Then
Pope Francis seemed to appear from nowhere, not for the center, but from the
far margins
Ø
And
like the bud of a redwood tree he brought new life and promise
Ø
This
is the promise of Isaiah for the Church as a whole and for all of us as
individuals.
CONCLUSION ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Ø
Even
if our hopes are felled and fog still seems to block the sun’s light, today’s
readings offer us God’s own word or promise: to console, affirm, and motivate
us
Ø
Just
as winter will surrender to spring
Ø
Just
as moribund redwood trees will rise again
Ø
So
too a shoot shall sprout from stump of Jesse
Ø
And
hope will come again with the sunrise – and the Son Rise – that is the
Incarnation!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
