Planting Our Apple Trees

apple tree growth
"apple tree growth" by foam, on Flickr

Theologian and church reformer Martin Luther is credited to have once said, “Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

It is a statement of faith. An affirmation of God's creation. An unwavering trust that the future is in God's hands. An exhortation to remain faithful to the tasks of the day, no matter what tomorrow may bring.

Our story of faith begins with a tree: that forbidden tree in the center of the garden of Eden, the tree with its impossibly attractive fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. It is by that tree that human beings, in their quest to be like God, had their eyes opened not only to the beauty in the world, but the brokenness and shame as well. It is by that first tree that we have learned (the hard way) that our quest to be like God actually leaves us, more than ever, in need of God's grace and compassion.

Our story of faith has, at its center, another tree: the tree of the cross by which Jesus - healer, teacher, friend, forgiver - is crucified for claiming the impossible. For claiming that he is God. For claiming the authority to forgive. For making the bold statement that he has come to subvert all the usual trappings of power, victory, and might, in order that the very powers of sin and death and brokenness themselves might be destroyed.

Our story of faith will end with one more tree: the tree of life, standing in the middle of the holy city, the new Jerusalem come to earth. This tree bears fruit each month in due season, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. It is a tree that symbolizes the flourishing of all creation. At the end of the age, when the new heavens and new earth come down and God ushers in the restoration and reconciliation of all things, God promises that all creation will be provided for. And all creation will be healed. Wholeness and hope will win the day.

Trees symbolize the story of our faith: brokenness, salvation, restoration. We are still in the middle of the story. Every day we face brokenness in ourselves and in our world. Every day we cling to the cross and the empty tomb as a promise of salvation waiting to be fulfilled. Every day we long for the time when all will be made new.

As people of faith, our lives are spent watching and waiting, looking for signs of resurrection around us, seeking the kingdom of God in our midst, even if we only see glimpses of it right now. And as we watch and wait, we do not detach from our world, nor do we throw up our hands and say, "God will save the world someday, so I wash my hands of it!" Our hope for the future calls us to become agents of hope in the present, sharing God's grace and compassion with the world. We do not fear the future or hide from it. Instead, we keep on planting our apple trees. We keep working for love and justice and freedom and healing in the world.

Even when things look bleak. Even when we are tired. Even when the darkness in the world threatens to blot out the light. We awake every morning to God's gift of another day of life in which to love our neighbors, our enemies, and our creation. Every morning is a new opportunity to shine the light of Christ into the world. Every day is a new chance to plant seeds of hope in our world.

Even if we know that tomorrow would go to pieces, we still plant our apple trees. Because hope and light and life are always just around the corner. Thanks be to God.

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