In A Charlie Brown Christmas, there is the most pitiful tree you’ve ever seen, but it was perfect for him. I kind of like it, too. But for most folks that tree won’t do. They want a perfect tree: size, shape, color; no artificial tree, no thinning branches. It wouldn’t do for my sister. It had to be perfect. Every Thanksgiving holiday we spent together, it was my job to go with her to pick out “the perfect” tree. We’d go to the same tree lot in Houston. They hated to see us coming. I’d go straight to the best-looking tree right away. “This is perfect, I’d say to myself”, but of course it wasn’t in the eyes of my sister because it was the first tree we looked at. There were hundreds on the lot to go, right? So off into the wild, green yonder we’d go: the unfortunate lot attendant who was the slowest of his amigos, my sister and I. Down every aisle we’d go, stopping only when she’d command, “Pull this one out.” It would never be near the aisle but in the middle. What do you think?” she’d ask. I don’t know why. It didn’t matter what I thought. It was only tree number two; 298 to go. We’d move from frosted ones, to naked ones, to tall ones to short. At about tree twenty, we’d—no—she’d come to a decision. “This is the one.”
“You mean the first one I pulled out.” Of course, that dialogue was a thought bubble floating over my head. The lot attendant read it in my face as he crossed himself as if in mass and mumbled, “Gracias Jesus”. He and I would tie it to the jeep and off we’d go with the perfect tree, only to get it home and discover it won’t fit through the door. Oh, well, some much for that perfect tree.
Maybe we want a perfect tree because it represents our hope for that perfect gift under it. But there is no perfect tree for Christmas, no perfect gift under it. But there is a perfect tree for Advent—the second coming of Christ—Christ himself. We need to seek that Advent tree because under it you will find that perfect gift, that which we all need in times like these chronicled in the headlines: college co-ed murders, school shootings, war. A perfect peace is what we need for now and all seasons.
Who will bring us this perfect peace?
As we follow the Scripture readings of the second Sunday of Advent, Isaiah 11 is our light to help us find the One who is described as “the shoot of Jesse”—a mere twig—yet, who will reign as the “Prince of Peace”. As we have lit the second Advent candle—the candle of peace—we will see in today’s message, first, the qualifications of the perfect king to bring perfect peace. Second, we will see the results of His perfect reign as king—the Messiah—who is compared to twig. Like Charlie Brown’s tree, he won’t be much to look at, but in the eyes of God, He is the perfect tree.
The qualifications of Christ, the ideal king to bring perfect, is rooted in the completeness of the Spirit of Lord. We see seven qualities of this completeness in Isaiah 11: 1-5.
11:1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.11:3 His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;11:4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.11:5 Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.
In Isaiah’s day, times were as dark as they are today. Judah was in exile. Violence, oppression and strife were heavy under the hands of the Assyrians. There was no peace. God had promised Judah, in a covenant in 2 Samuel 7, a Messiah through the line of King David to deliver them, to rule and reign over a kingdom forever. But Judah had sunk so low because of her disobedience that the line of King David was cut down, metaphorically, to a mere trunk with a shoot, a twig. However, from this remnant would spring forth Messiah. Unfortunately, Israel did not accept Messiah as their King at His first coming, but they will recognize Him as their King at His second coming.
The question is will you? Though small and insignificant in first appearance, Christ will rule and reign in a kingdom forever because He is complete. There will be hope, righteousness, equity and faithfulness for the disenfranchised. As seven is symbolic of completeness, Messiah will be complete, possessing three pairs of qualities empowered by the Spirit of the Lord. Size won’t matter. Spirit will:
The second-coming Christ will have the complete qualities to bring perfect peace. He will have:
Wisdom and understanding: to revere the will of God and understand how to respond to it.
Counsel and might: to accept what God reveals and enlist His power to bring His will to pass.
Knowledge and fear: to have a relationship with God and the humility to be led by His Spirit.
It’s not about size but spirit when it comes to peace and transformation. These seemingly small and insignificant leaders, like twigs, have the spirit to bring light to dark places:
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian girl who was killed by morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly, is leading by her spirit to bring social change in human rights for the disenfranchised in her country.
Greta Thunberg, a 9-year-old Swedish girl, an environmental activist, is leading millions of students in protest to force world leaders to take immediate action to change the course of global climate before it is too late.
Tyrique Glasgow, a former drug dealer and convicted felon, is serving the South Philadelphia neighborhood through the Young Chances Foundation to help give young people a chance for a better life. On the same block where he sold drugs and was shot 11 times, he is bringing peace to the community through his foundation.
Marcelas Owens, at eleven years old, was a miniature health care activist and poster child for the Affordable Care Act. He was there for the signing of the law that would make healthcare accessible and affordable for millions of Americans. Now 17, she has come out as transgendered and is leading in Washington State to advance LGBQT rights.
Church, it’s not about size, but Spirit. You may not be the largest church on the block, but you can be formidable like your king—Christ—who was described as a stump, a twig, a shoot. But Isaiah saw His destiny as the second-coming of king of a forever kingdom. Seek him, that perfect tree for the perfect present—peace—to bring light to darkness, to change the condition of our condition.
Second, the result of the rule and reign of the second coming of Christ—the perfect tree—is peace with creation. What one man and tree, Adam and the tree of good and evil, caused in the garden—the fall of creation—one God-man, a twig of a man, will restore peace and harmony to creation. We see that restoration in Isaiah 11: 6-9.
6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.7 A cow and a bear will graze together, their young will lie down together. A lion, like an ox, will eat straw. 8 A baby will play over the hole of a snake; over the nest of a serpent an infant will put his hand. 9 They will no longer injure or destroy on my entire royal mountain. For there will be universal submission to the Lord’s sovereignty, just as the waters completely cover the sea.
The result of the rule of the second coming of Christ the King will be:
Peace within the predatory animal world (v. 6). Natural enemies become amicable friends. If it is possible with animals, then why not with men.
Peace within the ecological world (v.7). There will be no adversarial imbalance when it comes to the environment supporting us. We won’t have to feed on each other to feed each other as animal do.
Peace between man and his first enemy—the serpent (v. 8). The divine curse of man and snake is removed. Self-preservation is replaced with selfless trust.
Peace between men and between man and God (9). Harmony will replace injury. Submission will replace strife. Man will accept his rightful place with God on His holy mountain, and be glad in it, where God is sovereign and in complete control.
If you want this perfect relationship between a creation restored and a sovereign God, you must subject to the second-coming King, the shoot of Jesse, from the line of David. Advent is a good time to reflect: Is Christ the king of my life and sovereign over my relationships with others when it comes to forgiveness? On His mountain, forgiveness is the debt we owe each other because of the debt he paid for all of us—the forgiveness of our sins paid in full on His mountain—Calvary—and His tree—the cross. Scripture bear witness to what He did for us on a tree:
“He himself bore our sins on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by whose stripes we were healed.” 1Peter 2:24.
This week Will Smith went on the Trevor Noah Show and apologized again for slapping Chris Rock for a joke he made about his wife. For that slap, Smith was banned from the Oscars. How should we receive apologies when wrong has been inflicted on us? Violence should never be tolerated. Yet, are we to forever hold an offense against us? Should we be forever defined by one wrong act, never to be forgiven. Isaiah says that on Mount Zion, the seat of the Kingdom of the forever King, we have a perfect peace where Christ paid for our sins, where we are expected to forgive others; where we will no longer injure each other or destroy each other.
Church, the perfect tree, the ideal king, the complete peace is not about size, but Spirit. You may not be the largest church on the block, but you can be formidable in your spirit of forgiveness this season and the seasons to come as we prepare for the second coming of Christ. He was but a stump, a twig, a shoot, but Isaiah also saw Him as the Prince of Peace, the perfect tree of Calvary who restored our relationship with God like it was in the garden. His little tree was big enough for him to fit under it, the forgiveness we need for the peace we want. Like Charlie Brown’s tree, Christ wasn’t much to look at, but in God’s eye’s, He was perfect.
Conclusion
As we have lit the second Advent candle—the candle of peace—we see from the light of God’s word through Isaiah and his description of a seemingly insignificant twig, the qualifications of the perfect king to bring perfect peace. He is empowered by the Spirit of the Lord. Second, we see the results of His perfect reign as king—peace with nature and man—a restoration of creation. From one tree, all creation fell. From one Christ-tree, all creation is made new again.
Like Charlie Brown’s tree, Christ wasn’t much to look at, but in the eyes of God, He is the perfect tree. Bring that tree home. It will fit through the door.
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