Tree of Life

In addition to the Hebrew Bible verses, the tree of life is symbolically described in the Book of Revelation as having curing properties: "the angel showed me 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. 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." (Revelation 22:1-2)
In Catholic Christianity, the Tree of Life represents the immaculate state of humanity free from corruption and Original Sin before the Fall.
In Eastern Christianity the tree of life is the love of God.^[6]


Until the Enlightenment, the Christian church generally gave biblical narratives of early Genesis the weight of historical narratives. In the City of God (xiii.20-21), Augustine of Hippo offers great allowance for "spiritual" interpretations of the events in the garden, so long as such allegories do not rob the narrative of its historical reality. However, the allegorical meanings of the early and medieval church were of a different kind than those posed by Kant and the Enlightenment. Precritical theologians allegorized the genesis events in the service of pastoral devotion. Enlightenment theologians (culminating perhaps in Brunner and Niebuhr in the twentieth century) sought for figurative interpretations because they had already dismissed the historical possibility of the story.




John Calvin (Commentary on Genesis 2:8), following a different thread in Augustine (City of God, xiii.20), understood the tree in sacramental language. Given that humanity cannot exist except within a covenantal relationship with God, and all covenants use symbols to give us "the attestation of his grace", he gives the tree, "not because it could confer on man that life with which he had been previously endued, but in order that it might be a symbol and memorial of the life which he had received from God." God often uses symbols - He doesn’t transfer his power into these outward signs, but "by them He stretches out His hand to us, because, without assistance, we cannot ascend to Him." Thus he intends man, as often as he eats the fruit, to remember the source of his life, and acknowledge that he lives not by his own power, but by God’s kindness. Calvin denies (contra Aquinas and without mentioning his name) that the tree served as a biological defense against physical aging. This is the standing interpretation in modern Reformed theology as well.

New Year's Eve

Something to think about on the last day of 2012. This is year is now almost passed, it is time to take up the mantle for a new year, a new beginning, a fresh start...

The written word...

I read the following piece, written by Rabbi Lewis, several years ago. And even after all this time, I still find that the message is to be savored. This unique form of writing uses only 1 syllable words. This is an ancient discipline which is meant to be simple but not simplistic.

What if God were to speak to us now; to give us a fresh look at what's real, true and the core of our world? Might God say, "Be just, be kind, care, share, give, take, love, laugh, cry, feel the pain and dance in the time of joy"? And what would we hear? Would it be what we want to hear or what was said? Could we each hear in our own way? Must we all be of the same mind? Must the one who hears at 12 feet fight with the one who hears at 12 yards? Will the black one and the white one and the child of the land all know God in
the same way? And if not, will they fight?

What if God said, "I grant you a gift: a world full of peace, health and food for all. I give you a time, now, when each may sit by his vine and by her fig tree and none will cause you fear"? Would we heed the words? If God came to each of us in a dream, would we hold the dream in our hearts and souls, or would we cast it off as just a dream? What would it take to look deep within, where we live and know truth, and there to
find the one God, who cries for us and waits and hopes and says, "I am here. Do not fear. Live, love, talk and walk hand in hand with me. Let no child learn war anymore, but let each bring what is right and just in his home and in her land"!

A Quote

from Thomas a Kempis

"A man is raised up from the earth by two wings--simplicity and purity. There must be simplicity in his intention and purity in his desires. Simplicity leads to God, purity embraces and enjoys Him.". From The Imitation of Christ

The wolves within...

There is much wisdom in the "old" stories...

An old Grandfather said to his grandson, who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice, "Let me tell you a story.

I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.

But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times." He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me. One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him, and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.

But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger,for his anger will change nothing.

Sometimes, it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said, "The one I feed."

A Cherokee legend...

A T-Rex?

Sheep & goats: Matthew 25:31-46

Posted on November 17, 2011

I don’t often post sermon drafts, but this week I am. 

Are you a sheep or a goat?

Is that a hard choice for you? When you were a child, and someone asked you what your favorite animal was did anyone ever say “sheep”? No one ever said: “Sure, you’ve got your eagles and lions and polar bears, but me, I’m a sheep guy.”

I mean, Jesus, come on. Sheep? We can’t get another choice?

Me? I’d like choice C. Are you A) a sheep, B) a goat, or C) a Tyrannosaurus Rex?

I ran across this sermon recently...it's worth a few minutes of your time...read it here...

Starting the day

I have never been a morning person. No matter how desperately I want to be and regardless of the fact that for the last 20+ years I've had to arrive at my "real job" before 7am, I just cannot get in the habit of rising early on my days off.

St. Francis de Sale gives us guidance for starting the day the right way and thankfully, he doesn't say what time you day has to begin:

1. Give Thanks
Adore God profoundly and thank Him for the grace of preserving you during the preceding night, and implore His pardon if you committed any sin during the course of it.

2. Recall the goal
Remember that the present day is given to you in order to gain the future day of eternity, and make a firm purpose to employ the day well for this intention.

3. Make a plan
Anticipate what tasks, transactions and occasions for serving God you may meet on this day and to what temptations of offending Him you will be exposed, whether by anger, vanity or some other irregularity. By a holy resolution prepare yourself to make the best use of the means that will be offered to you to serve God and advance in devotion. On the other hand, carefully prepare to avoid, resist and overcome whatever may be encountered that is opposed to your salvation and God's glory. It is not sufficient simply to make this resolution; you must also prepare means of putting it into practice.

4. Ask God for help
This done, humble yourself in the presence of God and acknowledge that by yourself you can do none of the things you have decided on, whether of avoiding evil or of doing good. As though holding your heart in your hands, offer it along with all your good purposes to His Divine Majesty, beseeching Him to take it under His protection and strengthen it so that it may turn out successfully in His service. Do this by such unspoken words as the following or their like: "Lord, here is this wretched heart of mine, which through your goodness has conceived of many good affections. Alas, it is too weak and miserable to do the good that it desires to do unless You impart your heavenly blessing. For this purpose I humbly beg your blessing, O merciful Father, through the merits of the passion of your Son, in whose honor I consecrate this day and all the remaining days of my life."

As a footnote, St. Francis writes the following:
All these spiritual acts must be made briefly and fervently and if possible before leaving your room, so that by means of this exercise, whatever you do throughout the day may be watered by God's blessing. I beg you never to omit this exercise.

Better to

...light a candle than to curse the darkness. (Chinese Proverb)

Or


by Asbo Jesus


Two ways to say the same thing? Both involve candles, light and darkness...both have the same message as to how to rid yourself of darkness. But if it is emotional or spiritual darkness...who or what is your candle then?

Shoulder Angels

Speaking of Angels

Posted by Danielle Bean in Family on Thursday, October 02, 2008 8:40 AM

With all the recent talk of archangels and guardian angels, 7-year-old Stephen has heavenly bodies on his mind.
This morning he looked skeptically over his right shoulder.
“Where does my angel sit?” he wanted to know. “Is it on this shoulder? Or is this the devil’s spot?”

I read this little snippet here this morning and it made me remember some of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid. Time and again one of the characters would be trying to make a momentous decision and up would pop the 'angel' and the 'devil'...one on each shoulder. Of course the 'devil' would encourage the character to be mischievous, selfish or bad while the 'angel' would encourage sweetness, kindness and virtue.

God leads and directs us...that still small voice mentioned in the Bible. I tell the youth that if they ask for God's guidance and listen closely, He will give it. Personally it is usually a "feeling" in my gut. Now while I know that doesn't sound too "holy", it's the best way I can put it. That same feeling that warns you if you're in danger, or if you've just said something you shouldn't, or if you've treated another badly. However you describe it, this is the way I feel the Holy Spirits' direction. It's practical and it works for me.

But still, wouldn't it be nice if we had the shoulder option from time to time? I try always to follow the maxim that if I have to convince myself to do this or that, I probably shouldn't but to actually have a heavenly being on my shoulder and whispering in my ear would sure help out once in a while. Of course I would never take the 'devils' advice!

Warning signs...

"Life is overflowing with injustice, yes, but life itself is not unjust. We historians don't study the past because we're afraid of the future; we do so because the past tells us the future. It's a warning siren to what will happen if we repeat the past."
Dr. Burke in "The Bell Messenger" by
Robert Cornuke

The Desert Fathers...

God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean (Act 10:28)

A church elder would visit a hermit and consecrate the Eucharist for him. Someone reported bad things about that elder to the hermit. The next time he came, the hermit refused to let him in. Then the hermit heard a voice saying, "Men have usurped the judgment of God." In a vision he saw a leper lifting a golden bucket on an golden rope from a golden well. The water was abundant and the hermit was thirsty, but he would not accept any water because of the leper. The voice spoke again, "Why won't you drink this water? Does it matter who draws it? All he is doing is pouring it out for you." The hermit understood the significance of the vision and he asked the elder to return.

Call no one unclean.

Wisdom...

In order to be compassionate, we must be humble...willing to serve any and all in need. Humbleness calls us to tend to and listen to others. In the act of serving, we learn. Learning with an open heart leads to wisdom. God's wisdom. What more could we want?

4 Things

My brother-in-law sent an e-mail this morning titled "4 Things"...although it was a short message, it contains much wisdom:

Four things you cannot recover:
The stone----after the throw
The occasion---after it's missed
The word---after it is said
The time---after it is gone

I realized I would do well to remember these...