Jesus DNA
As a cradle Catholic, I was very surprised when I heard about the Jesse Tree. Actually, I heard the name from Rose Bell. I had never heard of it before.
So, I am assuming there ae others out there like me, uninformed about Jesus’ family tree.
The Jesse Tree represents Jesus’ family tree. It takes us through that first long Advent, which lasted from the Fall to the Incarnation with a collection of Scripture meditations to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. The Jesse tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: “A shoot shall come out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.” Jesse was the father of King David. We adorn a Jesse tree with illustrated ornaments that represent the people, prophesies, and events leading up to the birth of Jesus. The ornaments of the Jesse tree tell the story of God in the Old Testament, connecting the Advent season with the faithfulness of God across four thousand years of history.
- Adam and Eve: apple with two bites gone
- Abraham and Isaac: a ram
- Solomon: a temple
- Moses: two tables of law
- David: a star
- Isaiah: a hand, or burning coal
- Rebecca: silver pitcher
- Ruth: wheat
- John the Baptist: shells
- Jacob: ladder
- Creation: sun or moon
- Noah: ark
- Joseph: coat with many colors
- Samuel: scrolls
- Jesse: flowering rod
- Samuel: scrolls
- Joseph: carpenter's tools
- Zachary and Elizabeth: a slate board
- Christ: chi-rho, rose
- Mary: lily, crown of twelve stars
- Nativity: donkey, star, angel
- Anne and Joachim: golden gates of Jerusalem, doves