Daily Catholic Lectio. Thu, 19 December ’24. O Root of Jesse, come!

Daily Catholic Lectio

Thu, 19 December ‘24

Advent Weekdays

Judges 13:2-7, 24-25. Luke 1:5-25

O Root of Jesse, come!

The third ‘O Antiphon’ that we reflect on today is ‘O Root of Jesse, come!’. Jesse was the father of David. Prophet Isaiah foretells, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (11:1), and “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” (11:10). The ‘root of Jesse’ might refer to the nation of Judah or a king in the lineage of David. In Christian reading, the expression refers to Jesus.

In the first reading, we hear the announcement of the birth of Samson, while in the gospel, we have that of John the Baptist. Both narratives have certain similarities and dissimilarities.

The angel of the Lord brings the message in both narratives. Manoah’s wife and Zechariah are busy with the work of the day. The angel announces the birth of the son, his characteristics, and his mission. Both children – Samson and John the Baptist – grow to be Nazirs (‘dedicated ones’) of God.

The basic dissimilarity is that Manoah’s wife does not interrogate the angel, whereas Zechariah does. Gabriel mutes Zechariah. From the literary point of view, this serves the purpose, i.e., John the Baptist will be the voice. Zechariah regains his voice at the birth of the voice, which is John the Baptist.

The day was a golden day in the life of Zechariah. During the time of Zechariah, there would have been about 24,000 priests serving in the Temple of Jerusalem. A lot will be cast to choose the one who will serve at the Sanctum Santorum. A priest would get this chance only once in a lifetime. Zechariah gets the chance. When this good thing happens, another good thing follows. Zechariah’s prayers are heard. And the shame that was on Zechariah and Elizabeth is removed. God does everything beautiful in his time.

At the end of the narrative, Manoah’s wife bears Samson, and Elizabeth conceives John the Baptist.

The roots of Manoah and Zechariah begin to sprout.

In the Messianic reading, Samson and John the Baptist are called Nazirs of God. The evangelist Matthew gives Jesus a similar name: “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene” (cf. Mt 2:23). Samson and John the Baptist stand as forerunners of Jesus. Manoah’s wife and Elizabeth prefigure the Blessed Virgin Mary, who will conceive by the power of the Holy Spirit.

What is the lesson that we learn today?

Our lives have a purpose. The purpose of Samson’s life was revealed to his mother, and that of John the Baptist was revealed to Zechariah. But we have to find our purpose by ourselves. Each one of us is born unique. This means our lives must also be unique. We need to find what we are uniquely good at. Finding it and working on it will create our values; our values will create our character, and our character will make us successful.

Like the root of Jesse, we too will sprout and grow!

Let our prayer today be:

“O Root of Jesse (Isa 11:1), you stand as the sign for humankind (Isa 11:10); before you kings shall keep silence, and to You all nations shall have recourse (Isa 52:15). Come, save us, and do not delay (Hab 2:3).”

Fr. Yesu Karunanidhi

Archdiocese of Madurai

Missionary of Mercy