Tree of Jesse from the Master of James IV of Scotland, Flemish, Bruges and Ghent or Mechelen, 1510 - 1520. Tempera colours, gold, and ink on parchment 9 1/8 x 6 9/16 in. MS. LUDWIG IX 18, FOL. 65
The antiphon for today is:
- 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.
Isaiah had written: "A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Isaiah 11:1 and "On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the
peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be
glorious." Isaiah 11:10
Jesse was the father of King David, and Micah had prophesied that the Messiah would be of the house and lineage of David and be born in David’s city, Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).
Radical to think that it will be a poor Jewish boy from the butt end of the Roman Empire (Palestine was not a sought after posting) who the power brokers will belt up before and that he will be (as he is) the one to whom prayer is offered in one form or another in nearly every nation of the world. Oh dear - maybe the bankers ain't gonna fare so well on the day of judgement? Or the politicians?
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