This is the last Jesse Tree reading, promise! See? Look at the lovely Jesse Tree! It’s all filled out and colorful. What a fun project, don’t you think? 🙂
The full Jesse Tree! Thank you soooo much for the crochet designer at Crochet Kitten for designing these patterns! You can find a full list of her (free!) patterns for the Jesse Tree here.
The last ornament is this one:
The angel! Just in case you want to make this angel for yourself, the crochet pattern is here.
It’s an angel!
And so, the last scripture dwells on none other than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ through the eyes of the shepherds. Let’s take a closer look, shall we? 🙂
The Shepherds Pay Homage
Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Pieter Mulier, c. 17th century. Private collection.
Annunciation to the Shepherds, c. 17th century. Private collection.
Adoration of the Christ Child and Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Bernardino Luini, c. 1520-25. New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
Annunciation to the Shepherds, by Cornelis Saftleven, c. 1630-50. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Nativity, by Master of the St. Ursula Legend, c. 15th century. Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, United States.
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Paolo de Matteis, c, 1712. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, United States.
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Carlo Cignani, c. 17th century. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Adoration of the Shepherds, by Juan Bautista Maino, c. 17th century. State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Final Thoughts
Isn’t that lovely???
The more I think about it, the more I realize that my place in this whole Christmas narrative is the place of the shepherds. Think about it:
The shepherds are called out to go meet Jesus.
They find Jesus!
They go away, praising and giving glory to God.
Doesn’t this sound like our mission, as Christians?
And so for this Christmas season, I pray that this leads you to joy and a closer encounter to Christ, our Lord. And I pray that it makes you want to give thanks to God, just as it once did over 2000 years ago to some shepherds of old.
Again, Merry Christmas! And may God bless us every one.
Karina Tabone is a wife, mother of four, author, blogger, and lover of Christian artwork. She's the author of the Illustrated Rosary series, which pairs every prayer of the Rosary with beautiful religious artwork. She likes also milkshakes, sunshine, and mystery novels. Follow her on Twitter at @illustr_prayer.
