The four Gospel portraits of Jesus take very different approaches to his origins. Mark has no record of Jesus’ ancestry, except for his connection to John the Baptist. Matthew traces his genealogy back to Abraham; Luke even farther back, to Adam. The Gospel of John outdoes them all, tracing Jesus’ origins back to the time before time, before the world was created! Jesus is the eternal Word of God.

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Advent’s four Sundays each have their own focus: “Stay awake!” (First); John the Baptist (Second); Rejoice! (Third); Joseph/Mary (Fourth). We might need to have little pity on the Fourth Sunday, however, since the hectic realities of the secular calendar can overwhelm it, particularly in those years when there are only one or two (or zero!) days before Christmas. This year we have the luxury of a whole week!

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Good news is good news is...Today's messages from Isaiah (prophetic ancestor of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth) and James (spiritual offspring of John and Jesus) both have messages that resonate across the five centuries that separate them: hope in the coming power and presence of God. Isaiah was attempting to comfort and encourage the people of Israel in geographic and spiritual exile. Their exile will end, Isaiah says, with God's presence shown forth through spectacular occurrences in nature.

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In our scripture translations, word choices matter. When today’s first reading tells us that a “stump” will bring forth a new shoot, it's Isaiah’s way of telling us that God's miraculous power is at work. Seeds bring forth shoots. Even buried roots can bring forth shoots. But a stump? When we look at a stump, essentially we are seeing the corpse of what used to be a tree.

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