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| Detail of a miniature of the Tree of Jesse, Beginning of the Gospel of Matthew (France, 13th c.) [British Library] |
O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem gentes deprecabuntur:
veni ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
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.
Lord Jesus Christ, you are the shoot from the stock of Jesse (Isa 11:1), the “Rose e’er blooming” who has sprung from a “tender stem” in the half spent night. [1] You showed “God’s love aright,”when you came in great humility as “a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God” (Rom 15:8). Filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you were made a witness to the peoples of the “steadfast, sure love” of God, confirming God’s promises to Israel and revealing his mercy to the Gentiles (cf. Isa 11:2–3; 55:3–4; Rom 15:8–9). When you went to your death and exaltation, you said, “Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (Jn 12:31–32). Lifted up on the cross, you astonished the powers by disarming and humiliating them in it (Col 2:15). You stand as a sign of the justice of God among the nations.
But the nations do not yet acknowledge your sovereignty, Lord Christ. The night is far gone and the day of your manifestation is near, but the world remains marked by hurt and destruction (Rom 13:12, cf. Isa 11:9). Gratifying the libido dominandi (lust for power), “the powerful feed upon the powerless.” [2] They—the “wolves” and “leopards,” “lions” and “bears”—“prowl on every side” looking to devour the poor and defenseless “lambs” and “kids,” who themselves exalt what is vile (Isa 11:6–7; Ps 12:8).
Lord, come quickly and deliver us. Do not delay in coming to judge the world with righteousness and equity (cf. Isa 11:3–5). Hasten the coming of your kingdom of justice and peace. Come quickly and bring the day when
The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.
They will not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea. (Isa 11:6–9)
[Here is a setting of O Radix Jesse, sung by Peter Morton (tenor) and the Choir of St John's College Cambridge, conducted by David Hill.]* English translation from the Church of England’s Advent seasonal resource.
[1] Cf. “Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming.”
[2] Francis I, Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, 53.
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