Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
We hear much about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and that Adam and Eve should not eat of its fruit; but we hear little about the Tree of Life that was also in the Garden of Eden.
After hearing Adam's lame excuses and God's three-fold punishment on the serpent, the woman, and the man, we will hear the Lord mutter on Saturday that the couple must be banned from Eden lest they eat of that tree and live forever. He cannot risk their cancelling his curse, “…until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
A footnote in the New American Bible Revised Edition links this mysterious tree in Eden to the Trees of Life found in the Book of Revelation (22:2):
On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations.
And Revelation 22:14
Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city through its gates.
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| Celtic Cross as a tree of life |
In this last book of the Christian scriptures, the Garden of Eden has become the new gated city of Jerusalem and the Tree of Life is the healing, fruitful Cross of Jesus Christ. Although crucifixion was an especially barbaric manner of executing prisoners and terrorizing populations, the Evangelists saw it as a sign of hope, a living tree whose fruit is medicine for the nations. They recalled Jesus’s urging us to “take up your cross daily and carry it.”
The Fathers of the Church, those heroic bishops of our first several centuries, recognized the Cross as the great, mysterious paradox and a symbol of the Gospel. They spoke of the cross as a fruit-bearing, life-giving tree and the image has remained with us throughout the centuries. At right is one of the simpler images from the tradition; Google offers many more.
As we cheerfully, courageously bear the crosses (epidemics) of Covid 19, suicide, drug abuse, alcoholism, gun violence, and so forth the we recognize in the Cross the Tree of Life which will heal our wounds, comfort our sadness, and restore our hope.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.