December 4, 2022 + Second Sunday of Advent + Seminarian Kylee Bestenlehner
Have you ever read the story “The Giving Tree”? It’s a popular children’s story by Shel Silverstein. It follows the relationship between a tree and a boy through the years of his life. The tree gives everything to the boy to make him happy: her leaves, her apples, her branches, and eventually her trunk. When the boy returns to the tree stump she says, “I am sorry boy. I wish that I could give you something but I have nothing left. I am just an old stump. I am sorry.”
Far too often we can feel cut off at the stump. Like we have nothing left to give. Our mental health can fluctuate like the seasons. Sometimes we are in the Spring and Summer of our lives, feeling good, renewed and at our peak. Blossoming and growing. Other times our lives can feel like Fall and Winter, where we feel death, decay, dormant. Like a dead stump.
Mental health is something our society does not like to talk about. Its taboo. “21% of US adults, that 1 in 5, experience mental illness, and yet, people will suffer an average of 10 years before seeking treatment.
I personally waited 8 years before starting therapy and it wasn’t from lack of trying. During my undergrad I started to suffer depression. When I sought out help at the schools mental health services, I was met with a waiting list, and instead of a listening ear, I received protocols and check lists. But God was present in the professors and friends I had at the time that helped keep my head above water. After school I was lost. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Again seeking help I got tired of the hoops I had to jump through with insurance and stopped trying. But my home pastors walked along side me in my quest for finding my purpose in life. It wasn’t until attending seminary a year, with the support from LSTC, that I finally found the courage and strength to find a therapist that charged a sliding scale for our sessions. I also now have a spiritual director and love having the guidance in my life from outside perspectives. Even in times when I couldn’t feel God’s presence and felt cut off, looking back, I can see the Spirit working through my professors, friends, and Pastors to be a blessing in my life, carrying me through my hardest times.
PAUSE
On this second Sunday in Advent, the prophet Isaiah offers this promise, “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 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. His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.”
Christians see in this prophecy of the coming of Jesus who will redeem the world. Jesus is the “shoot that shall come out from the stump of Jesse, the branch that shall grow out of his roots.”
When I growing up I always wondered what the Advent hymns that mentioned Jesse meant. In “Low How a Rose Er Blooming” the line goes, “Low how a rose er blooming, from tender stem has sprung! Of Jesse’s lineage coming as seerer of old have sung.” Similarly in “O come, O Come, Emanuel” there is a line that goes, “O come oh branch of Jesse, free your own from Satin’s tyranny.”
Who was this Jesse and why was he important? I had no idea! Now that I am in Seminary, I still didn’t know!
But I did some research, and I have an Advent bible fact for you: Jesse was the father of David, whom some call Israel’s favorite King. Jesus is a descendant of the line of David. Isaiah was the prophet who foretold the coming of the Messiah, a Savior, who as Christians we recognize as Jesus, who is Christ the King.
Isaiah’s prophecy was good news for the people of Israel, for Israel themselves were the stump that would be cut down by the Assyrians. Because of God’s promise to David, God would send them a new King, Immanuel, which means “Christ with us”.
During this time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the world is decorating Christmas Trees but here in the sanctuary, we look upon bare branches. This Advent season asks us to wait and reminds us of the stump.
Christ is ever present and yet still not here. In winter we wait for Spring for what feels like eternity (especially here in Chicago). Even when we are in the midst of winter spiritually and feel like we are cut off at the stump, it does not mean that the Spirit is not present in us! God is always present. Working within and around us. Spring always comes after winter. We have the promise of new life that will spring forth from the stump. Jesus will come and break the bonds of sin and death.
Chances are we know those who are struggling and feeling cut off, who may be isolating themselves. John the Baptist tells us to “prepare the way of the lord.” One of the ways we do this is to welcome all. Paul writes in Romans that we are to “Welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you.” We can do that by being a listening ear when someone struggling comes to you. We welcome by helping someone find mental health resources when they may be too exhausted to do it themselves. And we do this by letting them know they are not alone.
This time of year can also feel extra isolating for those of us who are cut off from family and have no one to spend the holidays with. Holy Trinity in the South Loop will have a Blue Christmas service on Thursday night, December 15th, which will be available to you on zoom. This service is meant to honor those who are “hurting, grieving, and in need of healing” this holiday season. I have never heard of a Blue Christmas service before, but I think I would have really appreciated it 8 years ago. I was so touched to know that this congregation sees and holds space for those who are hurting during a time of year we are told is supposed to be the happiest time of year. In Holy Trinity’s announcement email there was also mention that Pastor Mueller and Pastor Sevig are available to you as a resource for mental health referrals and support. Saying, “We care about you. Your mental health is important. You are valued and loved.”
How blessed is Holy Trinity to have pastors who don’t shy away from the hard stuff and who support you and welcome you as you are!
Holy Trinity extends a branch of welcome when we say every week, “Whoever you are and whatever your circumstances, you are welcome here.”
As Paul writes, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,” especially when we feel like a cut off stump, “so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” For from the stump will come Christ, the giving tree. Amen.