Wednesday, October 26, 2022

“The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations. Never again will anything be cursed. The Throne of God and of the Lamb is at the center.” (Revelation 22:2, The Message Bible)

                 The willow tree which stood in the yard between us and Lake Erie was massive. It looked like one of those trees from a fantasy novel, a formidable tree that knows stuff or is a central piece of folk legends or is a mystical representation of power and life.

                It must have been a very, very old tree. Its trunk was a good ten feet in circumference and it reached thirty to forty feet into the sky. It was sheathed in irregular scales of dark gray bark, with several patches missing along the trunk here and there. There were large nodules and knobs protruding from several places on the trunk and thicker branches. Its canopy of branches and leaves stretched over half the small yard. It looked as if it had braced many a storm off the lake and yet had remained steadfast and unwavering in any and all kinds of weather. It was a tree to be reckoned with.

                Trees play an interesting role in our scriptures. The great Biblical Narrative begins with Trees and ends with a Tree. Trees were a goodly part of God’s Creation and meant for humanity’s benefit: “Then God said, ‘I’ve given you every sort of seed-bearing plant on Earth and every kind of fruit-bearing tree, given them to you for food.’” (Genesis 1: 29, The Message) In this bounteous Garden, “the Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden, he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” (Genesis 2:9)

                Of course, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil led to our downfall as humankind. But that issue aside, trees were a good example of abundant living. “Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.” (Proverbs 3:18, New Living Translation) Living under fruit bearing trees was a metaphor of a good and righteous life.  “Instead, you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night. You’re a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, never dropping a leaf, always in blossom.” (Psalm 1: 1 -3, The Message)

                Jesus also used the metaphor. “Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:20, NLT)

                Paul likewise used this metaphor. He wrote how all those who belong to Jesus Christ, even Gentiles, have been grafted onto the promise of God’s blessing of Israel. “So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.” (Romans 11: 17, NLT) Or as the Message Bible renders the last sentence: “Remember, you aren’t feeding the root; the root is feeding you.”

                By the time we get to Revelation we are given a promise that sits in line with what we have briefly and incompletely encountered so far, “To everyone who is victorious I will give fruit from the tree of life in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:7, NLT) Eden restored; humankind finding our place within its bounty once again. There is that beautiful image then of the Tree of Life, not something lost or forbidden or abandoned, but flourishing, offering nurture for healing, peace, sustenance, and everlasting Life.

                Until then, we attach ourselves to the Vine. “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15: 4 – 5, NLT)

                Creaton speaks to us; are we listening?

 Dale