(The image for this Antiphon does not say “Radix Jesse” or “Root of Jesse” but instead reads “Pastor” and “Shepherd.” One might think that the author of this ‘O’ Antiphon took liberties, or simply got it wrong. This translation, however, is based on an eighth ‘O’ Antiphon from the Parisian Rite.
We’ve kept this image for the third Antiphon, considering how Jesus’ identity as coming from Jesse—and so David—is intrinsically bound up with Jesus’ identity as the Good Shepherd, just as the great King David himself was a shepherd.)
 

“O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!”
~~~
O come, O Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust thy mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!

1.  O Root of Jesse’s Stem

Both this antiphon and the following refer to the kingship of David, casting Jesus as the “Root of Jesse” and the “Key of David.”

The language of this third ‘O’ Antiphon—O Radix Jesse, or, O Root of Jesse—is drawn from the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah chapter 11, the prophet speaks of a shoot that shall come forth from the “root” or “stump” of Jesse, and that this shoot will grow and “bear fruit” (Isaiah 11:1-3a). This prophecy of Isaiah represented hope in a time that seemed hopeless. Like a great tree cut down to its stump, the royal line of Jesse had been cut down, stripping Israel of its king. It was the line of David that was supposed to bring peace, restoration, and glory to Israel! With this line now ‘cut off’, Israel would be tempted to lose hope.

As followers of the story, though, we know that this was not the end of God’s people, nor of God’s promises. Let us go back and trace this story from its beginning, identifying who this Jesse is and why Isaiah’s prophecy of this shoot is one of abundant hope.

We first meet the figure of Jesse in 1 Samuel 16, when the Lord had rejected Saul from being king over his people. As a result, the Lord sent Samuel in search of a new king to anoint. In 1 Samuel 16, the Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse, who lived in Bethlehem, where God had foreordained the one who would be king over his people. This is where we are given that captivating scene where all but one of Jesse’s sons are presented before Samuel to be chosen as the next king of Israel—all but the one scrappy shepherd boy who stayed back to tend to the sheep. The older sons were tall and strong, ready to be chosen as king, but the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature….For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on outward appearance but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). And so David was called from the fields and anointed there to be king of Israel.

Jesse, then, is the renowned father of David who will become not just a singular king but a great name and dynastic line for Israel. Therefore, when you write about the tree of Jesse, you’re writing about the royal line of David! Well, kings come and kings go, one could argue. Even the greatest of lines eventually come to and end. Why is it so important that this line of David does not end, cut down like a stump? Because this isn’t any line of Kings—this is God’s covenantline of kings.

In the covenant sworn to David in 2 Samuel 7, God promised him a son who would be raised up after him (1 Sam 7:12) who will “establish the throne of his kingdom for ever” (7:13). This son of David shall be a son to God (v. 14) and of his kingdom there will be no end (7:16). Here is God’s great and scandalous plan! Through the Son of David, God has ordained a plan through which his kingdom will be established and he will reign with his people forever. Therefore, every page of Scripture after this chapter is a heart stopping search for this “son-king” who will descend from the line of David and usher in this great promise.

Solomon, the immediate son of David, initially presented himself as a worthy candidate as the fulfilment of the promises made to David, but his demise proved that the promise must be fulfilled in one yet to come. Sadly, king after king failed to live up to the standard of David. A few were okay, even fewer were great, but most of the kings that followed David and Solomon only led Israel further and further away from God.

In fact, things got so bad that shortly after the time of Isaiah, the city of Jerusalem and its temple would be leveled and burned to the ground. Judah’s last king, Zedekiah, would witness the public execution of his sons, be blinded by his conquerors, and led into exile along with his people (2 Kgs 25:7). What is a faithful Israelite supposed to make of this? The line of David was supposed to continue forever, but now it has been seemingly cut down before our eyes, like a great tree cut down to its stump. And so God’s people wait—for hundreds of years—without a king from the line of David reigning over them. Most of the time I give up on a prayer intention after a week of waiting. Imagine waiting a year, ten years, a hundred years, hundreds of years, and still waiting with ardent faith that God remains faithful to his promises? It’s in this tension in which we turn to the pages of the New Testament and begin to appreciate a little more why the ‘good news’ is called just that, ‘good news’.

2.  O Jesus, Root of Jesse’s Stem

When we turn our gaze to Matthew 1, the first page of the New Testament, we read the most breathtaking line that one could read who has been awaiting the return of the king: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1). The line of David has continued! From what seemed to be a broken and hopeless situation, God had a plan in place for fulfilment and blessing that is fully expressed in the coming of Jesus.

Luke likewise preserves the ushering in of this hope. First, in Gabriel’s message to Zechariah, hope was reenergized for the one to come by the birth announcement of John, who will prepare God’s people for his coming (Luke 1:17; cf. 3:1-22). Then to Mary, the miraculous birth of a child is announced by a heavenly messenger, and this child will be of the line of David and will be the Son of God (1:32, 35). He will establish David’s throne and it will be an everlasting kingdom, a kingdom with no end (1:33).

The breath that has been held since we departed 2 Samuel 7 now is released in a gasp of joy—the one who was promised is now in our midst! And so we, with Mary and Joseph and the whole throng of those awaiting their king, sing: “Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!”

~~~

“O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people:
come to save us without delay!”
~~~
O come, O Rod of Jesse’s stem,
From ev’ry foe deliver them
That trust thy mighty power to save,
And give them vict’ry o’er the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to you, O Israel!

3.  Prayer & Meditation

The takeaway for this antiphon, I believe, is the prominent theme of hope. In Jesus, the Root of Jesse, the fullness of hope is contained. We have absolutely no reason to be anxious for our life or to lose hope in any situation—that is exactly the message that Isaiah is conveying in chapter 11, and the message that is given by the birth of Jesus. The message is loud and clear: “hey—you guys think I’ve forgotten?! On the contrary, I intimately know your worries; I intimately know your sufferings and your longings, and I have a plan to fulfill you, to complete you, in the most perfect way possible.”

Pope Benedict writes in his encyclical letter Spe salvi (Saved in Hope), “One who has hope lives differently” (§2). Christian hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm conviction that all things are in the care of Jesus and all things find their fulfilment in Jesus. Let us be, then, people who live differently—a people who hope in Jesus. The world needs this hope. It only takes a cursory viewing of any news channel and it becomes quickly apparent that we live in a world without hope—people taking each other’s lives, taking their own lives, living with no direction or purpose. We are, at large, a people who have lost our hope. We Christians, though, have the antidote, the perfect cure. We have Jesus, the Root of Jesse, who is our hope.

Reflect on the following:

1.  Have you ever lost hope in a certain situation or prayer intention because of the amount of time that has gone by? Consider how the Lord has all time and concerns in the palm of his hand. How is Jesus caring for you right now, even in the midst of unanswered prayers or drawn-out sufferings? Though Israel thought that God had abandoned his promise to David (i.e., that the line of David was struck down like a stump), Jesus came forth, as a fruit-bearing branch, to what seemed to be a long-forgotten promise. Take some time to share your concerns with Jesus and reestablish your trust in him. Dwell with the line, “Jesus, I trust in you.”

2.  In Isaiah’s prophecy of the shoot that shall come from the root of Jesse, it says that “the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,” describing the Spirit as “the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:2). These serve as a source for what the Church properly calls the ‘gifts of the Holy Spirit’, which are perfectly embodied in Jesus. Consider these gifts of the Spirit and reflect on which gift or gifts you are in most need of strengthening. Ask Jesus, the Root of Jesse, who gives these gifts without price, to come and breathe his Spirit upon you and strengthen you in this/these gift(s).