A shoot shall
sprout from the stump of Jesse,
and from his roots a bud shall blossom.
The
spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
(Is
11:1-2)
Our salvation comes from something small,
tender, vulnerable, something hardly noticeable. God, who is Creator of the Universe, comes to
us in smallness, weakness, and hiddenness.
I find this a hopeful message. Somehow, I keep expecting loud and impressive
events to convince me and others of God’s saving power; but over and over again
I am reminded that spectacles, power plays, and big events are the ways of the
world. Our temptation is to be distracted by them and made blind to the shoot that shall sprout from the stump.
When I have no eyes for the small signs of
God’s presence – the smile of a baby, the carefree play of children, the words
of encouragement and gestures of love offered by friends – I will always remain
tempted to despair.
The small child of Bethlehem, the unknown
young man of Nazareth, the rejected preacher, the naked man on the cross, he
asks for my full attention. The work of
our salvation takes place in the midst of a world that continues to shout,
scream, and overwhelm us with its claims and promises. But the promise is hidden in the shoot that
sprouts from the stump, a shoot that hardly anyone notices.
--Henri Nouwen
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