Tonight’s antiphon reads: “O Root of Jesse’s stem, sign of God’s love for all his people: come to save us without delay!” The first question one might ask is: who is Jesse? Jesse is the father of King David, the great Jewish King who the Jews looked up to for years as their greatest King. Since King David died it was believed by the Jews that the Messiah would be from Davids blood line. The Prophet Isaiah wrote about that prophecy:
“A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding. A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:1-3)
We know that Jesus is a descendent of King David because Joseph was from the house of David (Matthew 1:16). So, Jesus is a root of Jesse’s stem since he is a member of the family tree of the House of David. Ironically, the Jews thought that the Messiah, being of the House of David, would be as great a warrior as King David was; however, Jesus wasn’t a warrior. Instead of fighting and waging war, Jesus preached peace and how to turn the other cheek. Rather than marching into a city with horses and weapons, Jesus marched into Jerusalem on a donkey holding palm branches. Jesus is a descendent of King David, but Jesus is also the Prince of Peace.
Even though Jesus may not have been the warrior the Jews were looking for, he did conquer death. Jesus is not only a sign of God’s love for us, Jesus is love for “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Now we are called to share that love with everyone we meet.