The TREE at the CENTER of TIME and SPACE
The Tree at the CENTER of TIME and SPACE
Trees have always been important to me, from my days as a child growing up on an area of Saskatchewan prairie that provided very few trees, through my years as a developing, mostly landscape, photographer, (as a group, of course, we always see trees), to this time of reflection regarding the reasons why trees have such power over me.
The image in my first blog repressents, in a small way, the heart of this tree power. Those three ancient olive trees, lit by late afternoon light, stand in the garden in which our Lord perspired drops of blood as he struggled through the agony of anticipated crucifixion. The tree on which that crucifixion occurred is, in the Biblical text, the CENTRAL TREE in the whole scope of Time and Space. The TREE of LIFE stands at its beginning, in the GARDEN, and at its end this TREE of LIFE stands on each side of “the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city”. I find it intriguing that a singular tree can stand on both sides of the river, but that is what the text says, “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations”. I think I’ll take a break to go out and photograph that sight.
I just remembered, during my little break, that about a week ago, on January 16th, we celebrated Tu B’Shevat, New Year for Trees. (According to the Jewish National Fund, in the last 100 years, 250,000,000 trees have been planted in Israel). This is a celebration of trees!
So, where did all this tree significance begin?
The Genesis Creation story has trees spoken into existence already on the 3rd day. While there was Light, and darkness separated from it, on day 1, and the upper and lower waters separated on day 2, the dry land and waters were separated and trees planted already on day 3; that was a whole day before the Sun and Moon took their places. Can’t do without trees!
The GARDEN of EDEN, of course, features the first radically essential TREE: the TREE of LIFE. It had a companion tree, the TREE of KNOWLEDGE. (which, incidentally, no longer appears in the end). Two trees in the center of the garden; from one, along with all the other wonderful varieties that “bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds”, man was allowed to eat; from the other, God says, “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die”.
So the choice becomes LIFE or DEATH. Since KNOWLEDGE seemed better to Eve and Adam than LIFE, here we are in the midst of Death.
And we still maintain that education/knowledge will bring enlightenment and save us from all the violence and brokeness around us. And, of course, a quick look at Syria, Iran, Egypt, Russia, and even Winnipeg with its first homicide of 2014 happening before January has run its course, the whole world is filled with the cooperation and peace the Enlightenment promised.
Well, not quite perhaps, but surely we are evolving. We are able, after all, to understand that Iran’s new president Rouhani has a smile that means we can now trust Iran to do the right thing. Yes! What a relief. We will have more insight after Davos, Switzerland, of course, and we see how wonderfully the Geneva agreement produces cooperation.
And that same understanding teaches us to take at face value what Abu Mazen/Mahmoud Abbas says to the media and the world in English, and ignore his glorification of terrorism, (by welcoming terrorists home and lauding them as heros), and teaching Arabic children to recite poems about killing every Jew, (with the help of the rocks and trees behind which they hide), in Arabic. But then, who can believe that teaching children to hate is anything but working toward peaceful coexistence; which helps us, together with the UN, EU, and the US, see him, as a trustworthy negotiating partner with Israel. Yes, we are enlightened!
Sorry for that digression. The reference to trees in the previous paragraph reminded me that I had begun with a theme.
When Abram hears an Almighty Being call him to leave his home in UR, somewhere in what today is Iraq, and “go to the land I will show you”, accepts this BEING as his LORD and obediently follows Him, he is brought to a large TREE on Mt. Moreh. (the tree is thought to be an OAK; I like oak). All of the land he can see from that vantage point, this LORD whom he has chosen to obey, who claims to be Almighty God/El-Shaddai, says He will give to him and his decendants, who, incidentally number 0 at this point. Now I believe this BEING is the same Elohim who planted the TREE of LIFE in the GARDEN. He loves trees.
On another occasion, although now in the form of a man, this BEING, whom Abram has learned to call “Sovereign LORD” because He has identified Himself as “El-Shaddai”, visits Abraham again under another a TREE, this time “the great trees of Mamre”/ Hebron. He has come to assure Abraham, (God had already changed his name from Abram to Abraham), who is still, together with his wife Sarah, anxiously childless, that 1 year from this time, 90 year old Sarah will bear a son. Sarah laughs and thinks to herself, “After I am worn out and my husband is old, will I now have this pleasure?” The LORD responds, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Go for it, Abraham!
I do need to complete this tree contemplation and bring us to the last page of the BOOK where we again see the TREE of LIFE, but this is a good place to take a break because there is too much for this weeks blog. This week's image anticipates Moses' experience of God in the desert discussed in the next blog. See you next week.