Pulling weeds as a kid rarely included pulling up the roots. Since, most of us did not enjoy pulling weeds as a kid, pulling them often looked like quickly grabbing a few leaves, pulling and tossing them to the ground. Despite patient or impatient instruction by an adult, pulling weeds as a kid left the roots in the ground, which meant the weeds would grow back.
Weeds are not the only thing that grows back if the root remains. Trees too will sprout even after they have been cut down to the ground, but trees are different from weeds. We may be upset that a crape myrtle tree grows back in our lawn, but if a mesquite tree grows back in the right area, we are thankful for some more fuel for smoking brisket. What we need from a tree determines our reaction to it remaining a stump or sprouting back to life.
Having the right tree for the right job brings blessings. If you need a water-resistant wood for some outdoor furniture, use teak. If you need a lightweight wood for model airplanes, use balsa. If you want hardwood floors, use oak. If you need an insect repellant wood, choose cedar. If you want to frame a house, use pine. Use the right kind of wood for a project and it will go well, but with the wrong kind of tree, things will go bad.
The wrong kind of tree causes problems. A bad tree had grown up in the kingdom of Judah during the time of Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah served as a prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah generations after Israel had split into the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The great King David’s successors had on the whole grown unfaithful to God bringing harm to the people. King Ahaz, who ruled during the time of Isaiah, was particularly wicked. During his reign, the situation between the two kingdoms had eroded so badly that they were going to war against one another. When Israel allied itself with Aram, Judah’s King Ahaz did not trust in the LORD but sought an alliance with Assyria. This was a blatant departure from God bring tremendous harm to Israel and further corrupting his own kingdom. The wicked path many of Judah’s kings pursued caused the downfall of Judah, so much so that Mary and Joseph, both descendants from King David, were so far removed from positions of authority, influence and power that they gave birth to their firstborn son in a stable and placed him in a manger. The poor and needy at the time of King Ahaz suffered without help, and about 700 years later at the time of Mary and Joseph, they were in no position to bring about any widespread or even small help to the poor and needy. King David’s line had become a stump at the time of Mary and Joseph and gave no hope for sprouting any kind of ruler.
We need a tree that bears good fruit. Our society has many poor and needy people who do not find justice and rest. We too may need justice and rest, but no relief is in sight. Or we may find ourselves in a position to help offer justice and rest to the poor and needy but do not give. In our Gospel reading from Matthew 3, John the Baptist called out the religious elites for their lack of good fruit, 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” John the Baptism called out the heartless hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees for turning away from producing fruits of repentance. Their lack of faith in God showed itself in their lack of love for others. Our own hypocrisy shows when we rely on our time spent in church just to check a box without pursuing any meaningful change in our lives or producing good fruits of repentance. We also cannot pass the good work of serving others to those in positions of authority. From the UN and federal governments to HOA’s, school boards and CEO’s these all play a role in our time in this world, but they are not God, nor do they replace our lives of service. We foolishly expect God level power, care and solutions from those in authority leaving us restless. God has placed authorities over us for our good, but they have limits. Hoping for complete and lasting relief from anything in this world is like going to a dry stump day after day looking for some fruit to eat. If we look to dead, dry stumps too long, we will die.
God brought us life from the right stump. Jesus was not born to Mary and Joseph in a palace surrounded by servants, but in a stable surrounded by sheep. His parents did not decide to conceive him, and even if they had, they would have had no visions of grandeur for him. Instead, Jesus was born by the powerful, miraculous will of God. His righteous, faithful life was characterized by the fear of the LORD and the Holy Spirit’s power. God prophesied all of this in our Old Testament reading from Isaiah 11, 1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD —3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. Jesus was a descendant of King David through Mary, but the Holy Spirit brough him into our world as he prophesied through Isaiah to the wicked King Ahaz of Judah when he was facing war with Israel. He was faithless and spiritually dead, but God promised him Immanuel, which means God with us, in Isaiah 7, 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Jesus was the Son of God and Son of Man. He is not like the flawed rulers and authority, nor is like us. He is the true righteous, just and faithful King who sees what none of us can, the heart. We can only judge by what we see and hear, but Jesus looks at the heart like being able to see the roots of a plant below the soil. Plus, when he peers deep into us, he judges with a heart of justice, righteousness and faithfulness, as we read in Isaiah 11, 3 … He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. When Jesus judges us, he sees the foolish hope we have put into government and politics, and he has seen our selfish withholding from the poor and needy, and in response he carried out justice against himself for us. His innocent sacrifice on the cross put God’s justice on display for the world. We do not fear the righteous justice of the Root of Jesse when he judges because we have his forgiveness.
Jesus came to give us rest. With Jesus work to save us fulfilled, peace and harmony has been restored between us and God. Isaiah offered numerous examples of restored peace in Isaiah 11, 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat … 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. These pictures of rest are ours because of God’s gift of faith. When we know what God has done for us, we are able to weather any storm in our lives. The Apostle Paul asks God to give us joy and peace during the storms of life in our New Testament reading from Romans 15, as he quotes Isaiah 11, 12 And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.” 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the same Holy Spirit that rested on Jesus. The Holy Spirit works in our hearts to hold God to his promise of righteous justice. Through Jesus we have peace now because we will have peace in heaven. Through Jesus, those who were against God will be punished. Those who have harmed you will be judged. Those who destroy and promote injustice will be removed. Through the Holy Spirit, we know the LORD, have rest and will be gathered with our God at peace forever.
Pulling weeds as a kid rarely includes the roots. Instead, it was quickly grabbing a few leaves, pulling and tossing them to the ground. Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Jesus’ birth that he would be born from the line of King David, but he was born to Mary and Joseph in a stable surrounded by sheep, not in a palace surrounded by servants. Jesus was not born by the decision of his parents, but by the powerful, miraculous will of God. His innocent sacrifice on the cross put God’s justice on display for the world and his message of rest in the forgiveness of sins is for all people. As we face injustice and insecurity, we rally to the Root of Jesse for rest in the glorious halls of heaven. Amen.
Gunnar Ledermann, Pastor Divine Peace Church
Gunnar Ledermann
I’m passionate about Rockwall’s vibrant community and actively engage with local non-profits and community organizations, including the Rockwall Chamber of Commerce, the City of Rockwall, and the Downtown Rockwall Association. My background includes a bachelor’s degree in Classical Languages and a master’s degree in divinity. Currently serving as a pastor at Divine Peace Church in Rockwall, I also enjoy spending time with my wife, Marinda, and our five children.
