Seth and Sock

Seth

Today we add the beginning of the Covenant line of humanity, Seth, to the Jesse tree. Of the first two sons born to Adam and Eve, righteous Abel was killed by his brother, and Cain was cursed and thus couldn't be the progenitor of the line of Christ, so God gave the First Parents a new son to start the long line to the Saviour. All the rest of the Bible focuses on the continuation of that line until the birth of Jesus, to show how God kept His Promise about the Seed of the Woman after the Fall of humanity into sin.

Verses for today:
Genesis 4: 1 - 11, 25, 26
Genesis 5: 1 - 8
Luke 3 : 23, 38

Sock

Today we praise Maria in the gates for her accomplishment. She had a knitting lesson with Oma yesterday to learn how to finish the toe of her first knitted sock.

Is it a sock or a croc?

Now she knows how to make the whole thing and plans to make more. I hope. She said that one of her aunts asked her what she was doing, to which she replied, "knitting." The aunt said, "Ah, the yoga of the 21st century." So Maria realized knitting is presently a trendy thing to do and promptly considered giving it up, so as not to be like everybody else. Her brothers said she was ahead of the herd, so she may be mollified.

First finished sock with reinforced heel.

Advent Calendars

 Are you opening your Advent calendars?

We get this magazine, which covers the country life in Switzerland with gorgeous pictures and stories. The one on the right is the normal issue for this month, and the one on the left is a special issue for Advent and Christmas. Its cover is actually an advent calendar.

The first two days of the Calendar. The background photo is a place in Switzerland.

I also got myself what might be considered an odd Advent calendar: children's books behind each  window. They are fairy tales in German, so I am using them to practice my German reading.

This was the first one. It is not familiar in English. It is about a a brother and sister fleeing a mean stepmother and finding their way to good fortune in the world.

Nobody has time to read more, right? So these short pages are almost manageable.

Today's window to open. The picture is of Frau Holle who rains down good things or bad things on respective people when she shakes out her pillows in her house keeping. That tells you something about the culture, doesn't it? You are supposed to shake your pillows out the window every morning. Now you know.

This was the story behind the window.

Advent Blessings to all.

Eve and After

Eve

 Today's person on the Jesse Tree is the Mother of us all, Eve. We usually only hear about or consider her in a negative light, for that fatal failure in taking the bait. But Eve had to have been a most remarkable woman. After God made her, but not before, God called all of His creation very good. The world was not complete without woman, as God took opportunity to demonstrate to Adam. He had only some of God's qualities that humanity needed, and she was given the rest. So it truly is not good that man should be alone. Nor woman either, as she was made for him.

And she was also made perfect. Think what that means: fit, strong, perfect skin and nails, even temper, intelligent, gorgeous hair, and all those qualities we women strive for, too often without success. She also had to have been a productive worker, because that was a pre-curse blessing. When we reflect on the multi-century life spans of those days, we can surmise that she bore and raised at least a couple of dozen children. That is commendable if anything is. Then afterward, she did what God commended to older women, teaching the younger. She, like Adam, probably lived almost to the time of the Flood also, so she had the heartbreak of seeing the continuing apostasy of her descendants. But we can be confident she kept the faith, given to her personally after her fall, and which she declared with the birth of her first child, Cain. She didn't hold the Saviour then, but she knew He would come. That is a woman worth remembering and a mother worth having.

Verses to consider today:
Genesis 1: 27, 28, 31
Genesis 2. 18 -25
Genesis 3: 20, 4: 1, 25, 26
Proverbs 31: 10 -12, 25 - 31

After

Here is an invitation to all you virtuous women who are clothed in strength and honor, the fruit of whose hands praise you in the gates, to share some of your fruits here, and we too will praise you in the gates. If anyone needs posting information again, let me know, or send your things to me and I'll post them for you, if you prefer.

Adam and All

Advent Concert
Yesterday evening we went to our first Advent concert of the season. Stefan played with his recorder ensemble and with an ad hoc group of five - recorders, gamba, and harpsichord, in a concert of late renaissance English music. It included a couple of sopranos singing good Christian songs with the old music by very competent, well-taught young people. And it was in a church, quite plain, but church nonetheless. This was a school event, for some Conservatory classes. And nobody was offend by God.

Adam
Today our Advent person for the Jesse Tree is Adam. After Our Father God, Adam is the father of all humanity, because no human came before him, so he is at the base of the Jesse tree. For better -"in the image of God made He him" - or worse - "in Adam's fall we sinned all" - we are all children of Adam.

For coloring this one I used markers and colored pencils, with accent marks (all those lovely scribbles) in gel pens.

Verses to consider for today:
Genesis 1: 26 - 31
Romans 5: 12 - 19
I Corinthians 15: 22

 The Wood Man Again

This is the wood man in day light. To answer a previous question of his origins, The nearest we can remember is that he probably came from the Zillertal in Austria from a long ago trip there.

The wood man's current domain for Advent. On the floor are quantities of plants - still blooming - to over-winter.

The small tree is decorated with Chrismons of The Names of Jesus, from a Christmas Eve service of many years ago. In connection with the Jesse tree we remember His oft 'used name of the Son of Man.

Advent 1 - The Jesse Tree

Meditation for the First Sunday in Advent

Today is the beginning of the Advent season, a time of preparation and repentance and looking forward to Christ's coming. We both remember His first coming, the Holy God incarnated as a little baby, and anticipate His second coming in glory to judge the world and take us to heaven.

In early days this season was treated much like Lent, in that people focused on the repentance aspect of the preparation, to purge the body and mind of worldliness to be ready for Christ's coming to judgment. The liturgical color of purple for repentance reflects this. Fasting, refraining from rich foods and amusements, and confession were a part of these observations. It is intended to be a sober time of reflection. But because each Sunday is a "little Easter" we have a reprieve of sorts from the gloominess of the weekdays.  We speak of the Sundays in Advent, rather than of Advent, as separated from the weekdays. While we limit candles and omit the hallelujahs in Advent, we do use our Advent wreaths to visually signify the passage of time toward our celebration of The Coming.

Another way the Church has long visually noted the Advent season is with the Jesse Tree. This is a depiction of the Incarnational genealogy of Jesus. The Bible is replete with references to the lines of humanity that brought us the Saviour in human form. The Old Testament has numerous family lines, and Jesus's family tree is written in both Matthew 1 and Luke 3 (probably for Mary and Joseph, more on which later, when we come to those figures.). Medieval churches often have frescoes or stained glass windows with Jesse Trees. (Look it up; they are lovely.) They are usually quite abbreviated for space reasons, but show the main figures in the family line. This is what we also will see here for Advent. A written family tree will be forthcoming here.

For Advent we will look at the commendable qualities of these figures, and for the Christmas service will note the very compelling reasons these people need a Saviour.

We start at the beginning. While Jesus had a human family, His Father is God, as is Our Father as we regularly pray. God is the creator of all, including humanity, so He created the human family also for Jesus (who, of course was not created in time, but is eternally begotten of His Father).

First Family
  
Our first figure is God the Father. God likes families. He is a family, as we note already in Genesis 1: 26. We can't understand the Trinity, but it powerfully depicts the importance of families. As God the Father, He is the progenitor of all things. As Father He is also  provider, protector, and head.

These are good verses to read and ponder about God as our Father and Jesus' Father:

Luke 3: 38
I Peter 1: 2
Psalm 68 and 103
You will likely think of others.

The picture for today shows God's creating hands forming the world and separating the firmaments and light from dark, and seas from land, to prepare for the crown of His creation, Man. Tomorrow we will see that first man, Adam.