The Jesse Tree
Christmas is all about Jesus. We know that, and yet so often we get caught up in trees and tinsel, crafts and cake, reindeer and wrapping. Jesus can easily become an afterthought.
The Jesse Tree tradition is a wonderful antidote to this problem. Essentially it offers a daily reading from the Bible and an opportunity to hang a little ornament on a tree to remind us of it. Named after Isaiah 11v1, it begins there, with the prophecy about the Messiah coming from the stump of Jesse, who was King David’s father. Yet King David isn’t the only significant figure in Jesus’ family tree.
Jesse Tree = Jesus’ Family Tree
In fact, the Jesse Tree takes you from creation to crib, reflecting on mostly people, but sometimes significant events, in Jesus’ ancestry. We meet Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Rahab and many more. The editor’s purpose in extending the Jesse Tree tradition into a devotional was to help you, and whomever you read it with, reflect on how each part of the ancestry pointed forward to Jesus and his complete saving work.
So Does it Work? An insiders view…
In this Advent Devotional, there are 25 author contributors. Do they come together with the same vision under the care of the compiler, Rachel Yarworth? I have to admit bias, I’m one of the authors. However, that gives me a unique insight. Besides a brief that the devotional had to point to Jesus, had to use accessible language, and had to be less than 300 words (which, for novel-writers like me is a toughie!) we had little guidance. Rachel gave us free rein for our ideas and even let us choose our own “day”.
Therefore, when I received a review copy of the entire manuscript, I was particularly struck by the unity of the themes running throughout, particularly God’s consistent, persistent love toward humankind, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus the promised Messiah. That such unity could be achieved is testimony to the faith and concern of each and every hand-picked author, and, I can only conclude, the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Explore The Jesse Tree concept
As to the concept – Is the book accessible, able to be read and engaged with by all, from singles to families, young to old, across different cultures? It’s a little hard to vouch for that, seeming as I can only review from my own perspective, however, the many different backgrounds of the contributing authors and the many eyes that ‘road-tested’ it before it hit the bookshelves would suggest so.
The readings and reflections were deliberately kept short, and the accompanying questions written by the editor, I found, hit an excellent balance between understandable and poignant. The prayers are certainly suitable for reading aloud with your children, whilst also being personal enough for application to our individual walks with God.
If all this wasn’t enough, Rachel has provided beautiful artwork to decorate inside the book, and in downloadable format from her website https://rachelyarworthwriter.uk/jesse-tree/ so you can colour, cut out and hang on your very own Jesse Tree.
My hopes for The Jesse Tree Anthology
I hope this will be a resource that really helps redeem the Advent season for Jesus, the promised Messiah. I hope you enjoy my own contribution on Day 3 (obviously, I had to choose a Genesis narrative!) I suppose to find the answer to the questions above, you shall have to read it yourself and let me know what you think. I’d love to engage with your comments.
The Jesse Tree Anthology signed by me is available now directly from my shop here.
Internationally, it can be purchased from all good retailers.
More information can be found online at https://rachelyarworthwriter.uk/jesse-tree/