“A Banner For The Peoples”
Isaiah 11:1-10
A Swiss man, Jean Francois Vernetti, is listed in the Guinness World Records for 2004. What did Mr. Vernetti do that was so extraordinary? He made the list because of his enormous collection of “Do Not Disturb” signs. In his travels to 131 countries, Vernetti has amassed a collection of 2,915 “Do Not Disturb” signs in a variety of languages. He dreams of collecting such signs from all 191 countries of the world.
Who would have thought that this would be a universal sign? “Do Not Disturb.” On second thought, that’s the sentiment of many people. “Leave me alone.” “Don’t rock the boat.” “Let it be.” But then, along comes the Prophet Isaiah with words such as I just read that both encourage and disturb.
Isaiah, in his shoot coming from the stump and the roots that will bear fruit, is calling attention away from any man-made world power which will be destroyed, to the kingdom of God which the Lord Himself will set up, and which shall never be destroyed.
Many of you have heard me say that my Monday is actually Tuesday because I believe my week begins on Sunday, and it’s Biblical. “Early on the first day of the week [Sunday], while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance” [John 20:1]. That would have been on Easter morning, the reason why we, as Christians, worship on Sunday while our Jewish brothers and sisters still worship on Friday evening or Saturday morning.
But you need to know, this past Monday, well, it was truly a Monday, if you catch where I’ve drifted. We woke up to our second morning with no heat at the parsonage. I had started to feel a little under the weather on Sunday afternoon and evening and Monday morning I was full blown under the weather; this before I even made it to the office. We were extremely busy in the office on Monday because Cathy was scheduled to be out for a couple of days for her procedure and when I met the technician at the house later that morning and he told me it was going to be two or three days before our heat was fixed, I was fit for a fit, if you know what I mean. And oh yea, it was Monday, but Sunday was coming; meaning, I needed to be thinking and listening for some signs for this message this morning.
It was about 2:30 on Monday before I went to lunch and I was at home enjoying a bowl of soup when the doorbell rang. At the door were two technicians who had come to fix our heat, Praise be to God! Anyway, I was standing in the carport as they were working and it was like God grabbed a hold of me and said, “Young man, look around you at all of these trees. How old do you think they are. They all started from a shoot.” “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.”
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the writings of the prophets in the Bible and some consider him to be the greatest of all the prophets. I learned an interesting concept about this book in my time studying at Candler School of Theology and it’s something that many scholars agree with. It is believed that the Book of Isaiah was actually three books. Chapters 1-39 would be first with its warnings about the people of Judah changing their ways. Chapters 40-55 were written during the Babylonian exile and contain suggestions for their restoration. And chapters 56-66 come about when they [Judah] return from exile. There are even some who believe, because of the time frame, that these three books would have been written by three different authors.
The nation of Judah would suffer greatly and be cut down but yet a new shoot would grow from the stump of Jesse [King David’s father]. In this season of Advent when our focus is sometimes on the waiting, we are reminded that it was 1000 years between the time of David and Jesus and 700 years before the fulfillment of this promised shoot.
And then, we have the phrase “and a little child will lead them,” a line from verse 6 in our scripture this morning that describes a future time of peace and harmony. It signifies a transformed world where an innocent child is the guide, leading powerful animals like lions and wolves peacefully. The verse is often interpreted as a symbol of a new era where humility, innocence, and gentleness overcome fear and conflict.
The imagery of a child leading wild animals represents a world where peace reigns, and innocence leads the way, replacing aggression and conflict.
In Christian tradition, Jesus also used a similar idea, stating that one must “become as little children” to enter the kingdom of heaven, emphasizing the importance of humility and childlike faith.
In our Advent Study, Brought to the Light, Advent for all who Need It, author Anna Grace Legband, in this past Tuesday’s entry shared about her friend who announced that she was pregnant and her baby was the size of a poppy seed. Anna Grace wrote, “At one point, this is how Jesus was the ‘fullness of God’ [Colossians 1:19] dwelling in the size of a poppy seed.” “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesus; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit—and a little child will lead them.
I traveled to New Orleans twice to work on recovery efforts after Hurricane Katrina. On my first trip we were working in a neighborhood and never saw another human being all day except the military on patrol. It was so eerie. No people. No animals. None of the regular noise you would expect in a neighborhood of a city that large. All of the vegetation that had been covered with water was dead, shrubs, flowers and grass. There were no dogs or cats, no squirrels running on the power lines, no birds flying in the sky or singing in the trees.
But when I returned about a month later, I saw squirrels and birds. And on the front porch of a house where we were working, I saw a flower blooming in a flower box. That first trip I saw death. On my second trip I saw light.
For the people of Judah, it was Monday—but Sunday was coming. You may find yourself living and walking in darkness—but a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse to be the Light of the World! A light for your world!
Eastman First Methodist Church 