A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;
    a branch will sprout from his roots.
 The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him,
    a spirit of wisdom and understanding,
    a spirit of planning and strength,
    a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. – Isaiah 11:1-2

One of my favorite recurring themes from the scriptures is that of garden. The biblical narrative begins and ends in a garden and along the way dozens of key events transpire in gardens too, from vineyards to olive groves to herb gardens and orchards and more.

We know the Garden of Eden as lush, the Garden of Gethsemane as full with mature olive trees and the garden in Revelation as thick with leaves and laden with fruit.

But some of the best garden stories involve watching the first shoots come up out of something almost barren, when the garden is laden not so much with fruit for today as promise for tomorrow.

I like that thought, a garden yielding a harvest of promise.

To that end and especially in light of some of the hard struggles we have witnessed recently in people we love, it has been a real blessing to watch this small basket of bulbs (a gift from the Campbells) burst forth over the past couple of weeks.

Quite often – especially if we live in faith – even sad and lost-looking situations can yield hope and possibility and new life and, yes, a harvest of promise.

Come to church this morning. Take the bread and the wine. Feast on the hope and drink of the promise.

This is the story of Jesus, the shoot from the root of Jesse, the invitation to live into promise. Taste and see, the Lord really is good.

Taste and see how good the Lord is!
    The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy! Psalm 34:8

Stay tuned, because this is an ongoing story, we are still living into the truth that is hope and promise and possibility – DEREK