Readings: Isaiah 11:1–10, Romans 15:4–13, Matthew 3:1–12 NRSV
Service of the Word: St Nicholas 7th December 2025
The Root, the Road, and the Call to Renewal: An Advent Talk
Grace and peace be with you this Advent season, a time when the world holds its breath, waiting for the coming of Christ.
Today, our scriptures present a powerful trilogy of that waiting: the promise from Isaiah, the foundation from Paul, and the call from John the Baptist, guiding us through Advent.
On one side, we have the magnificent, impossible Promise from the prophet Isaiah. On the other hand, we have the urgent, immediate Call to Action from John the Baptist in Matthew. Bridging these two is the apostle Paul, offering us the Foundation for our hope in his letter to the Romans.
To truly prepare for Christmas, we must hold all three—the promise, the foundation, and the call—in tension.
I. The Root of Jesse: The Vision of Peace (Isaiah 11:1–10)
The world Isaiah lived in was one of fear, war, and political upheaval. The great King David dynasty, once a mighty tree, had been violently cut down. All that remained was a stump. And yet, out of that stump, Isaiah offers a vision of profound, improbable hope:
"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."
This is the promise of the Messiah—a king unlike any before. His reign will be defined not by military might, but by the fullness of God's Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.
And what will this Spirit-led king accomplish? Isaiah gives us that famous, breathtaking image of peace and justice.
“He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth.”
This is not physical violence, but the power of truth and righteousness.
In his reign, the world will be restored to Eden’s harmony:
“The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid.”
The promise we anchor ourselves to this Advent is a vision of hope and reassurance, where God's peace and justice replace fear and violence.
II. The Road of Hope: The Foundation of Scripture (Romans 15:4–13)
How do we live in the messy reality of today while waiting for that impossible vision of tomorrow? Paul tells us in Romans 15:
“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”
Paul takes Isaiah’s ancient promise—the Root of Jesse—and applies it directly to the Church, telling them that this Root is Christ and that He is the hope not just for Israel but for the entire Gentile world.
The hope we have is not a passive wish; it is a foundation. Paul calls on the "God of steadfastness and encouragement" to grant us unity—to agree—so that we can glorify God together.
This is the Advent discipline of perseverance. We look back at the Scriptures as a well of hope, find Christ as the Root, and draw strength to endure today, inspiring us "by the power of the Holy Spirit." We are meant to be so full of joy and peace that we abound in God's promises.
III. The Call to Action: The Urgency of Repentance (Matthew 3:1–12)
While Isaiah gives us the promise, Paul provides the foundation, and John the Baptist offers the necessary preparation. This is the sound of a voice crying in the wilderness, interrupting our comfortable waiting:
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
John is not interested in passive waiting. His message is sharp, immediate, and utterly uncompromising. He calls the people to repentance—a change of mind, a U-turn, a transformation of your whole direction.
To John, preparation is a road-building project:
“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”
We cannot expect the Messiah to arrive and find a crooked, cluttered, and neglected road in our hearts. We must clear the way now, feeling empowered to make real change in our lives.
He warns those who claim faith without action:
"Bear fruit worthy of repentance."
The axe, he declares, is laid to the root—not the life-giving Root of Jesse, but the dead, unproductive root of our sin and complacency. It is a terrifying image of judgment, reminding us that Advent is not just about a gentle baby; it’s about the coming of the King who judges the world.
This is our Advent challenge:
Is the axe at the root of a dead habit in your life?
Is it at the root of a grudge, a worry, or a resentment that chokes out the fruit of the Spirit?
In conclusion.
We stand today in the middle of this great Advent tension:
We are rooted in the magnificent, ultimate promise of justice and peace, given through Isaiah.
We are sustained on the road by the hope and encouragement Paul speaks of, drawing strength from the Scriptures.
But we are called by John the Baptist to act now, to make the preparations real through specific steps, moving beyond passive waiting into active repentance.
This week, let’s choose one area of our lives—one grudge to release, one fear to lay down, one crooked path of habit to straighten-and offer it as our Advent preparation.
Ways we could achieve this could be:
Let us come to the LORD in openness and prayer
Trust that he is with us and loves us utterly
To ask the LORD to guide us.
Reflect mindfully on our past few days
And as always, be prepared for some surprises!!!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.