Life giving-Lenten reflection
I like walking in parks, where there are majestic ancient trees. They speak of resilience and endurance through all the seasons and the years. I often say to any one walking with me, “Look at this beautiful tree, I wonder how old it is?”
The image pictured in the book of Jeremiah 17 verses 6–8 is of a person who is like a tree that knows how to thrive and not just survive:
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord …
They shall be like a tree planted by water,
Sending its roots out by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
And its leaves shall stay green.
In the year of drought, it is not anxious,
And it does not cease to bear fruit.
As we move on from the Season of Epiphany into Lent, we move from the light of seeing God made manifest to the less well-lit places
of wilderness, dryness, and seeking God when life is more fragile. To trust God whatever the outer circumstances is the call of discipleship.
Life is rarely black and white; we experience complexity and change. This means that we, as Christians might examine our values and ethics and depth of these by engaging spiritual practices — prayer, contemplation, meditation on Scripture, embodied worship and practical service. These disciplines can help us address our fears by naming them, taking courage and seeking to do what is life-giving, including finding support when needed. For we, can grow and bear fruit by drawing from the taproots of life and love that nourish and sustain us.
Margaret Silf, an ecumenical spiritual writer, in her book Lighted Windows reflected on the verse “like a tree planted by water, sending
its roots out by the stream” and recalled how in the Second World War in London in the Blitz, people survived by “going deep into the underground, where bombs could not penetrate” (p.41). The people of Ukraine currently and many in war-torn countries do similar, they go underground. She goes on to say that there are symbolically “bombs” that can happen in our own life. “Job security can disappear overnight … disease can strike us down … friends can betray us… Where do we seek shelter in these circumstances?” (p.41). In war-time, people would usually know their way to the nearest air raid shelter, and so she asks, “do we know the way to draw life-strength from our deepest roots?” (p.42). I find this a poignant challenge.
For each of us, as we journey through Lent, we might ponder about what gives us life and strength in the dry and testing places of our lives. Both solitude and community help us to grow and bear fruit. The image of a tree planted near the water recurs in Psalm 1 verse 3, picturing a person as like a tree, who flourishes drawing on the available water source. Where are the deeper waters in our lives, the things and people that help us to know we are loved, no matter what happens, and help us understand we are ultimately held in the wider flow of a love that will not let us go. May our faith in God and Jesus, who in the words of the Gospel of John chapter 4 verse 10 speaks of the gift of living water to provide life, grow our inner and outer lives in the season of Lent towards Easter.
Blessings
Rev Lynette Dungan