The Great 'O' Antiphons: 19th December - O Radix Jesse

Jesse Tree - Lambeth Psalter 1140s

O root of Jesse, standing as a sign among the peoples:
before you Kings will shut their mouths,
to you the nations will make their prayer:
Come and deliver us, and delay no longer.

Our medieval Christian craftsmen and artists created wonderful Jesse trees, the sleeping Jesse at the base with a tree growing out of his loins and on each branch those ancestors of Christ opening out like leaves until we reach the final flowering of Mary with her child Jesus.

Some Jesse trees can be found in manuscripts but there still remain wonderful examples in stained glass and wood and stone carving. Canterbury Cathedral has one fragment of a panel dating from 1150. In Dorchester Abbey, Oxfordshire, there is a wonderful north window which combines carved stone images with remaining fragments of medieval glass. In St Mary's priory, Abergavenny, a most beautiful wooden 15th century Jesse figure is all that remains of the tree!

The Gospel genealogies of Jesus trace his descent from Jesse the father of David. This is to show the fulfillment of Micah's prophecy, that the Messiah came from David's royal house and lineage and would be born in David's city, Bethlehem (Micah 5.2). The ancient world was fascinated by the genealogy of Kings, because a direct and confirmed lineage proved their right to rule. It's no wonder that dynastic battles were fought over legitimacy rights, for any suggestion that the person claiming the throne was illegitimate usually meant conflict!

Today we are not so fixed on these claims as our ancestors were, for Christians a new and universal family is constituted, where all are one in Christ (Gal 3.28.) Nevertheless this antiphon acts as a catalyst to help us find our ancestry as children of creation.

In two quotes from Isaiah an image of strong roots and strong growth helps us understand how we too are part of the tree of Jesse. The prophet talks about the shoot that shall come from the stock of Jesse, from which a branch will grow full of fruit ( Is 11.1) On that day when the earth will be 'filled with the knowledge of the lord as the waters cover the sea', 'the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for all the peoples, the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious'(Is 11.9,10).

Because we are grafted on to Christ, our task is to continually bear good fruit, Jesus uses this type of metaphor for good works and acts, but we have also something more poignant to consider.

This root image links us to creation, to the 'stardust' which forms the heart of matter and life. O Radix Jesse challenges us to care, with loving concern, for all life's growth and do everything we can to prevent harm to living creatures and our planet.