The Jesse Tree tradition echoes a prophesy made about Jesus in the book of Isaiah: that a shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:2). Jesse was the father of King David, one of Israel’s greatest kings and an ancestor of Jesus. The image of the stump points to the barrenness and despair that God’s people can experience. The image of the shoot points to hope: from deep roots in God, new life comes. As an Advent tradition, a Jesse Tree is a simple, barren branch on which one ornament is hung each day of Advent. Each ornament represents a story from the Old Testament and reminds us how God was getting his people ready for the coming of Jesus.
Please read these stories and pray with us each day as we prepare for the coming of Christ!
