The Shoot of Jesse and the Baptism of Fire: Is 11, Rom 15, and John the Baptist in Mt 3

Egredietur virga de radice Iesse, et flos de radice eius ascendet.
Is 11:1

The Second Sunday of Advent in Year A brings together three texts around the Forerunner and the King he announces. Is 11:1-10 proclaims the shoot that will come forth from the root of Jesse: upon him the spirit of the Lord will rest, and in his kingdom the wolf will dwell with the lamb and the earth will be full of the knowledge of God. Rom 15:4-9 recalls that the Scriptures were written for our instruction and asks the faithful to welcome one another as Christ welcomed them. Mt 3:1-12 presents John the Baptist in the wilderness of Judea proclaiming repentance, announcing the one who comes after him and who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The three texts describe the same preparation: the prophecy that shapes the waiting, the conduct that corresponds to the coming, and the prophetic announcement that prepares the way.

I. The First Reading: Is 11:1-10

Isaiah announces a shoot that will come forth from the stump of Jesse and a branch that will sprout from his roots (Is 11:1). Upon him the spirit of the Lord will rest: a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord (v. 2). He will not judge by appearances nor decide by hearsay, but will judge the poor with justice and the lowly of the earth with fairness (vv. 3-4). And the vision of the kingdom of peace: the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf and the lion will graze together, and a little child will lead them (v. 6). The nursing child will play over the den of the asp (v. 8). “There will be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (v. 9). The shoot of Jesse is not merely a political king: he is the breaking-in of a new creation. Advent awaits not the restoration of a past, but the inauguration of a world that has never yet existed.

II. The Second Reading: Rom 15:4-9

Paul grounds his exhortation to unity in the Scriptures of the Old Testament: “Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by the endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom 15:4). He asks that the God of endurance and encouragement grant them to think in harmony with one another in the manner of Christ, so that with one accord and one voice they may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (vv. 5-6). And the central exhortation: “Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (v. 7). The historical reason: Christ became a servant of the circumcised to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs, and so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy (vv. 8-9). The mutual welcome of the faithful is the present form of the kingdom that Isaiah describes: the wolf and the lamb living together is not merely a zoological metaphor, it is the figure of the Jew and the Gentile, of the strong and the weak, whom Paul asks to welcome one another in the community.

III. The Gospel: Mt 3:1-12

John the Baptist appears in the wilderness of Judea proclaiming: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt 3:2). Matthew sees in the Baptist the fulfillment of Is 40:3: the voice crying out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. John wears a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and he eats locusts and wild honey (v. 4): the resemblance to Elijah is intentional. Pharisees and Sadducees come to be baptized and John confronts them: “Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce, then, fruits worthy of repentance” (vv. 7-8). Appealing to the blood of Abraham is not enough: “God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (v. 9). The ax is already laid at the root of the trees (v. 10). John distinguishes his baptism from the one to come: “I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is mightier than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (v. 11). The Baptist’s role is preparatory and temporary: he is the finger that points, not the one pointed to.

IV. Mary and the Shoot of Jesse

The patristic and liturgical tradition identified Mary with the “virga” of Is 11:1: the branch that comes forth from the root of Jesse and from which the flower blossoms. Ambrose, Jerome, and the Latin tradition saw in the virga the Virgin and in the flower Christ. The image is botanically suggestive: the branch is neither the root nor the flower, but it is what connects one to the other. Mary is neither the origin (the root of Jesse, the Davidic line) nor the full fruit (Christ), but she is what unites them: the creature from whom the Son of God takes his humanity. The shoot of Is 11 upon whom the spirit of the Lord rests is first Christ, but the shadow of the Spirit came down upon Mary before coming down upon anyone else: at the Annunciation, “the Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1:35) anticipates the baptism of the Holy Spirit that John announces in Mt 3. Mary received the baptism of the Spirit before the Baptist proclaimed it. Rom 15 asks the faithful to welcome one another as Christ welcomed them. Mary welcomed Christ in the most literal way possible: in her womb, in her life, in her home. Advent learns from her what welcome is: not passive reception but the active yes that changes everything.