Icons of Advent: Stump

Things may not be as dead as they seem

Stump is not a very attractive word. It doesn’t look especially elegant in typeface and, when said out loud, it even sounds like the dead end it names. I have tried hard to take an attractive, artistic picture of a stump, and have had little success. It isn’t the best choice to center in content of any kind.

A stump is an overlooked, yet compelling Advent symbol. In Isaiah, it is referenced in passages that are considered Messianic, most famously in Isaiah 11:

1 A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
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.
Isaiah 11:1-2 (NRSVue)

Even the least outdoorsy one of us can recall encountering a stump, and quite possibly within the city. Stumps are the evidence of a once thriving tree that was cut down - a tree that grew big enough to leave a stump behind. Perhaps the tree became too big for the space around it, disrupting the growth of other plants or its roots displacing a concrete sidewalk. Perhaps the tree became diseased, and it was cut down to prevent the spread to other healthy trees.

Either way, a stump means the tree was too mature, too deeply entrenched to simply uproot completely. Extracting the stump could put other plants at risk or damage objects surrounding it, because of the spread and entanglement of its roots. The stump reminds us that something significant grew there, and its memory and potential could not be erased.

Roots may be out of sight, but we are wise not to forget them because they are powerful. A stump may appear dead and tragic, but that may not be the case at all. Any plant that has strong roots is not truly dead until the roots are dead. A shoot, a branch, can still emerge from a stump that has living roots.

The metaphor of the stump of Jesse means that, although something can look quite dead and a faded memory, its promise can still emerge and be fulfilled. Although Jesse’s line has seemed dormant, and ancient promise of a Messiah from his lineage appears hopeless, a new branch will still emerge. Under the surface, its roots of God’s plan are still alive and long after many have given up on the promise, we see new growth emerge from the long dormant stump. In the New Testament, we step into a story that has been defined by centuries of living under foreign rule, centuries of waiting on a Messiah, with a mix of people who have given up on God’s intervention even while others maintain hope that God’s purposes will still be achieved.

The wait can be long, especially when the damage done in creating the stump has been great. We know this to be true in our own lives. The trauma and wounding in our own lives that created a hole where something significant once stood can leave us afraid to hope. When that thing was diseased and unhealthy, it can leave us hesitant to trust that something good could ever grow in that same place in our lives.

Advent reminds us that we are not foolish to wait, to watch for the promise, to hope. I think about Simeon and Anna in the temple, believing that God had not forgotten his people and committing their lives to watch for the promise. Their hope was not disappointed:

25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah., 27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word,
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.”
Luke 2:25-32 (NRSVue)

A stump may be a strange image but it reminds us that the areas of our lives that seem dead, wounded or even marred beyond recognition, are not beyond the possibility of life and newness. The areas of our lives that God made for his glory may be damaged from the brokenness of this world, but they can still fulfill their potential and new life can emerge. In my own life, I have been surprised after long periods of waiting, things that seem cut off in their prime, suddenly come alive with unexpected growth and restoration. I know there are some things that will only be fully restored at the return of Jesus, but I have seen the impossible happen on this side of eternity, and I believe it is possible for all who follow Jesus.

Each time we see a stump, we remember that all that appears dead is not necessarily finished. So it is with the promises God has made for your life. This Advent, may you hold on to the promise that the things that appear dead in your own life are not beyond new possibilities in Jesus.