Isaiah 11:1-10, Luke 1:26-33
When we think of the greatest leaders throughout history, we recognize they had many similar qualities. We can say most governed with the best intentions for their people. They cared for the well-being of others, and in so many cases, they understood that it is God who is truly sovereign.
As the people of Israel longed for God’s righteousness, and the world buckled under the weight of sin, the prophet Isaiah brought the Word of God, that from the house of David; God would bring forth his righteousness from the one who is raised from the Root of Jesse, the one of whom Isaiah said would be born of the virgin.
The angel told to Mary, “The Lord God will give him the throne of David his father. He will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his reign will be without end” (Luke 1:32-33). With this antiphon, the hearts and minds of the Church more and more urgently cry out for God’s reign to extend over all humanity: “Come, save us, and do not delay.” And so the Advent Church sings:
O come, O come O Branch of Jesse, free
Your own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell your people save,
And give them vic-t’ry o’er the grave. Rejoice!
O Come, O Come Emmanuel v. 4 Traditional
In the Beginning 