I played a game lately in which a friend to the left of me was required to pretend that he was me. In pretending to be me, he said that he wrote a blog post concerning Christianity and trees. After celebrating the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and listening to Fr. Daniel's homily just two days after, I could not help myself but to write on the matter. My friend was right; I am exactly the person who would write about Christianity and trees and I am sure it was not an occasion of coincidental nature.
Trees are depicted in the Judeo-Christian tradition as a nourishing element. In the book of Genesis we see two main trees, not just one. God planted in the garden the tree of knowledge of good and evil, from which Adam and Eve had their fill of the fruit. But there is also the tree of life. The tree of life does not signify the empirically perceivable life but of true life. It signifies, among infinite perceivable life (immortality), a fulfilling life in complete communion with God and all His creations. But, as we all know, this communion was broken by the faults of Adam and Eve, rendering them unworthy of true life. So as to not taint the purity of Eden, it was necessary that they were banished from it.
Although their offenses were great, God did not destroy them completely. Although they were forbidden from the present of life, they yet maintained life in mortality and in difficulty communicating with God. In this way God made mankind work toward their salvation, toward their true state of nature before the fall.
It should be of no surprise to Christians (especially Catholics who connect the Old Testament and the New Testament during mass) that some books of the Old Testament are at times prophetic, priming the minds of the faithful for the (first) coming of Christ.
Further into the Christian narrative, God, in His grace, presented to us the tree of life. But it was presented to us albeit in an unsuspecting way. It was presented not in a literal form of a living tree but in the form of Christ crucified. The body and blood of Christ, the fruits of his salvific work and passion, flowed from the tree that is the wood of the Holy Cross. In this act of grace by God the symbol of wrongdoing used by the Romans, the cross, the tainted tree of knowledge of good and evil, is made null. Through this act the cross is made into a sign of life.
And what does this new tree of life, the cross on which Christ is crucified, offers us? The same as the one in Eden: immortality and full communion with God. But Christ offers more than the original tree of life in that He is willing to forgive our sins.
However, it is still necessary that we be worthy to be in the presence of the tree of life. Further, we Catholics believe that the Eucharist is, literally, Christ Himself; it is literally the fruits of the new tree of life (for Protestants and atheists this may be very strange... Just be kind and take my word that this isn't that strange once you adequately understand it). For these reasons we Catholics make a firm and unmistakable act of confession to God through the sacrament of reconciliation, placing ourselves in a state of grace. Only in this state of grace can we partake in the Eucharist. Through the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist, we are to meditate regularly how we are of fallen nature and practice thanksgiving toward Christ our Lord for allowing us to be saved.
In doing these things we improve our faith and grow further into virtue both moral and theological. In this sense it is correct that trees be depicted in the Christian tradition as a nourishing element. Through the fruits of the new tree of life we are nourished and find true life. The Eucharist indeed is the source and summit of Christian life.
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