THE FIRST CHRISTMAS TREE Tom Harris Executive Director

Growing up on the Virginia Farm, finding the right Christmas tree was a special search. All Fall we would walk the woods of the 100-acre farm eyeing the best small cedars. Then I would trounce across the field with ax in hand to lay siege to my conquest. After a fight with the ax and possibly the saw, the tree would fall and to the house it would go for trimming and living room display.

Did you know that the Prophet Isaiah spoke of the first Christmas tree 700 years BC? In his writings in Isaiah 11, he prophesies that a "shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse." From a dead tree would shoot up a sprig of new life. What is this all about? Isaiah 10 depicts the Assyrians marching toward Israel. Assyria has made Israel a nation of withered branches and dead stumps. But God promises that Assyria will be chopped down and as the prophet gazes across this barren landscape, he sees a sign of life. He sees a "shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse." Jesse was the father of king David and 600 years later a king will be born from Jesse's long-dormant stump. This prophecy is fulfilled 600 years later when Mary and Joseph, both descendants of David, are forced by Roman decree to return to Bethlehem, the home of Jesse and the birthplace of Jesus where Mary gives birth to the Christ Child who is the shoot from the stump of Jesse. Yes, the first Christmas tree was a dead stump that sprouted up a lifegiver, Jesus himself.

So, I hope you have a lovely Christmas tree and as you admire and enjoy its ornaments, may it remind you of the first Christmas tree and of Christ himself.