Tree of Life

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Tree Of Life

Third Sunday in Advent

The tree – a symbol of strength, of beauty, of life and majesty. The tree has always held a mysterious awe for all cultures, especially those areas where trees are scarce. And in Israel trees are scares. Trees become places of refuge from the hot sun. They are good places to set up a place to live. They were places judges decided cases and they became places of worship. Trees hold the record for the oldest and largest living things on this planet. Trees have an almost magical quality to them.

And some of this is related to the image of trees in the Bible. In the opening chapters of the book of Genesis we are confronted with the image of two trees in the Garden of Eden that hold importance – the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God forbid Adam and Eve from eating the fruit but the crafty serpent tempts Eve and Adam and they disobey God and are barred from the Garden and the Tree of Life. Sin enters into the world through their disobedience and we all are separated from the Tree of Life – death is a reality now because of sin.

In the early Christian church December 24th became a Feast day for Adam and Eve. As part of that tradition they would decorate a tree with apples and pieces of bread. The bread had multiple meanings but I think we know what the apples were for. This theme of the Fall into sin seems like more of a Lent theme then Advent, but then again Advent is a time to prepare for the Christ Child and to repent as John the Baptist proclaimed to prepare the way for Jesus.

Trees also have the image of wisdom and understanding the truth in Scripture. The first Psalm, the one that sets the tone for the whole book says this, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:3, ESV) The Scriptures paint a picture of a strong, healthy tree as a symbol of those who follow in the ways of the Lord and obey Him. I picture the mighty oak by a river that grows strong and tall. Those who follow the Lord, who walk in the truth will be strong and mighty like a well-watered tree. So a tree has an image of strength and vitality. The evergreen continues that idea of vitality – the tree that is always green. You can see we are getting closer to our Christmas tree.

Growing up one of the important events of Christmas was the setting up of our tree in our home. We had an artificial tree that went up near my Mother’s birthday. And we had an order to setting it up too. My Father would set up the tree and put on the lights. My Mother would be in charge of the garland and tinsel. And my brother and I would hang the ornaments. I always loved the lights and would watch my Father string them up and today it is usually my job to hang the lights. But how did it become a tradition for an evergreen tree to be brought into a home and decorated?

There is a legend that it was Martin Luther who started the tradition of bringing in a tree into a home. As the story goes, Martin Luther was traveling home one night and was walking past several ice filled trees. It was a full moon out and the magical light from the moon was bouncing off the icicles of the tree to make an image of many stars hanging on the branches. It has been said that Martin Luther became child-like at Christmas time and in the awe and joy of the moment he decided he wanted to share this magical image with his family. So he cut down the tree and brought it to his home. When he set up the tree he then decorated it with little candles to represent the light he saw outside. He then shared with his family the joy of Christmas and remembering that Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

Did it really happen this way, we aren’t sure but some like it happened and we now have the tradition of setting up trees in our homes and decorating them with lights – I recommend the plug-in kind and not candles. J The lights can remind us of Christ and even of the star over Bethlehem that first Christmas night heralding the birth of our Savior.

Our Christmas tree, reminds us of many things, of the Tree of Life, of strength and wisdom for those who follow the Lord and of the decoration of lights that brings to mind that Jesus is the light of the world. But there is another image that I think brings all of these images together.

In my home congregation we had the tradition of setting up a beautiful live tree that would be decorated with love and care. It was usually a very large tree and it took many people to set it up and get all the decorations on it. The star on top was constructed by my grandfather and consisted of a manger and cross inside of a circle. We enjoyed the tree throughout the Christmas season and then it would disappear along with the other decorations in January. But then it would reappear on Ash Wednesday. But it wasn’t the same glorious tree from Christmas. It was stripped of all branches and the top 1/3 would be cut off. That piece was then tied with rope to the lower part to form a cross. It was rough and bare but it reminded us that the babe born in Bethlehem was also the one who died on a cross for us.

Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (ESV) The image of the tree finds its greatest meaning in this – Jesus died for you and me on a tree. The Tree of Life that we were barred from because of sin is now open wide through Jesus dying on a tree. The curse we were under because of Adam and Eve is now placed on the Christ and nailed to another tree – the tree of Calvary. And in that act Jesus restores to us life. The Tree that seemed to be a distant memory and seemed like we had no hope of reaching is now right in front of us and ours for the taking – through Jesus Christ.

The last chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22, brings us back to the beginning and points to what awaits us who are in Jesus. The Tree is restored! "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." (Revelation 22:1-2, ESV)

So, next time you see a Christmas tree may you be reminded of the tree on which your Savior hung to bring you true life and restore your relationship with Him.

Amen

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