Fifth Sunday in Lent (5)

 

Oak Leaves - stained glass sculpture by Bill Glaister which hangs beside the oak tree in the Hammond’s back yard

Romans 11: 13-24

I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble.  For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.  And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

I am fortunate to live with a talented gardener. My wife Karen has a genuine green thumb and she knows the names of many plants that grow in Southern Alberta.

We live in an old house with a big yard with a lot of trees, bushes, perennials and, in season, annuals too. I take great pleasure in all the growing things that Karen nurtures around our house.

Our pride and joy is the oak tree in the backyard. We consider it somewhat miraculous. In Calgary, where we lived for 30 years, many trees and plants cannot grow because of that city’s elevation.  But that never stopped us or thousands of other Calgarians from racing out to the garden centres every year after the May long weekend. Summer gardens don’t last long in Calgary – they are intensely colourful, short lived and much loved.

To a gardener from Calgary, Lethbridge must feel like California, which may be why they call it L.A.

An oak can live in our back yard because Southern Alberta is hospitable to such trees. But in truth, the tree stands because someone thought to plant it and nurture it. That would be the previous owners, who loved the place so much that, when the time came to downsize, they moved just a few houses over.

What they did for this house 25 years ago they did with strangers in mind – the anonymous individuals who would live here after they moved on. Then we were unknown, but now we are neighbours. We have a relationship. 

Today’s passage from Romans suggests that the Apostle Paul was fond of trees too.  It echoes the “tree of Jesse” narrative from Isaiah that heralds the coming of Jesus and God’s plan for redemption. What stands out for me is that, through his chosen people, God made a way for all people to participate in this plan – Jews, Gentiles, everyone. Not all Christians are genealogical descendants of Abraham, but all are legitimate heirs, “grafted” into the Jewish experience. God made it possible through belief in Christ. This informs how we live in Christ and prompts gratitude for God’s chosen people, our spiritual kin and predecessors. I like how The Message says it: ”The only reason you’re on the tree is because your graft ‘took’ when you believed, and because you’re connected to that belief-nurturing root. So don’t get cocky and strut your branch. Be humbly mindful of the root that keeps you lithe and green.”

Just like our house and its previous owners, we now benefit from what they did for us long before they knew us. The Bible says that God knew us while we were still in our mother’s womb. He prepared the way for us to participate in the epic story of creation’s completion and the world to come, not as spectators, but as image bearers of the living God. Lithe and green – amen.

- Pat Hammond