“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse—The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon
Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and courage, the Spirit of
knowledge and the fear of the Lord” (Isaiah 11:1,2)
The kingdom of David is to be restored, and it is coming to pass because the Messiah long awaited by the Jews is here and now, in Jesus Christ. “Out of His roots,” or from His Being we receive the Holy Spirit. In communion with Him we partake of those precious divine gifts which God wants us so badly to receive. As St. Augustine put it: “God is more eager to bestow His blessings than we are to receive them.” If you think of them as a tree, then on the very top we find wisdom. When we develop such souls that have been purified of sinfulness and nourished on contemplation from worship and meditating on the Holy Scriptures, we will have expanded that precious place in our souls the church fathers call nous to the ability to see with the eye of the Spirit. We will share what St. Paul is referring to in writing to Colossians [1:26]: “The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints.” It does seem nigh impossible that this can happen to us in this generation where there is so much talk about Jesus and so little interest in fulfilling the implications of following Him seriously, yet “with God all things are possible.”
Understanding implies grasping the meaning of Christ’s wonderful words as we find them in the New Testament and as they are illumined by the father and mothers of our faith who had brought them alive through their devotion to the Holy Trinity in lives of prayer, fasting, humility and obedience. It calls for constant reading of the Bible, searching for the one great pearl that may appear only when a moment or an experience meets a phrase or passage with an “Aha!” insight that we had never understood till then.
When we develop a modicum of humility that brings serenity into our souls and prudence in not ignoring a blessing from the Spirit because we live on the surface of life, we may be given the gift of counsel, contemplation and collusion with the deeper parts of our souls. Stillness is a precious commodity that not everyone is able to appreciate. We can of course take counsel with those whom we permit entry into our inner beings, but we must guard that private place and respect it as God’s temple. The Church is where two or three are gathered with Christ, but the temple of the soul is where He and you abide.
The true Christian cannot be a coward. Why else wear a cross on the neck, if not to remind ourselves that this is what God did for us. Can we do less for Him? The society around us respects physical courage—those who serve and die for our nation demand and deserve honor from us. We who also belong to God’s kingdom honor the martyrs, witnesses and champions of spiritual courage in the face of Christ’s opponents. This confused and adulterous generation provides ample opportunities to express ways to witness to Christ.
There is a divine plan for the universe that God wants to share with us. That knowledge gives meaning to everything, and it is imperative that we learn and live by it. Love for God requires from us the awareness that nothing is accidental.
At the base of this tree of the Spirit is the fear of God. It means that we have such a respect for God’s glory that we struggle to protect ourselves from sinfulness, not wanting to do or say anything that would offend His honor and glory.