Community
The Great Oak stood at the top of the
hill, overlooking the town. In winter
the squirrels burrowed in leafy dens and kept warm. In spring birds built their nests in the
oak’s strong branches. In summer
children from the town brought picnic lunches to eat on the oak’s cool shade. In autumn squirrels, deer and birds came from
the woods and ate their fill of the oak’s acorns. The people of the town said that it was the
grandest tree that ever was.
One spring, twin oak seedlings sprouted on
each side of the hill just beyond the Great Oak’s reach. Seasons passed and the little trees
grew. Because the Great Oak was so large
the seedlings on the east side of hill only had sunshine on the morning. The seedlings on the west side of the hill
only had sunshine in the afternoon. The
seedlings on the east side of the hill began to grow together and share the
sunshine. The seedlings on the west side
of the hill began to lean over each other to try to get the most sunshine. Seasons passed.
By the time they were saplings those on
the east side of the hill had leaned together so tightly that they appeared to
be a single sapling. They were growing
straight and tall. The saplings on the
west side of the hill bent outward now away from each other. They were, stunted, twisted and low to the
ground.
That summer there was a terrible
storm. Thunder rolled across the sky,
rain pelted down, lightning tore at the dark sky and the wind blew and
blew. The young trees on the west side
of the hill were quickly blown over. The
Great Oak that stood alone was split open by lightning and its large branches cracked
and crashed down. Only the young trees
on the east side of the hill that leaned against each other withstood the
storm. In the morning, people from the
town looked at the broken Great Oak, and they were sad. It had been the grandest tree they had ever
seen. Now there was nothing to be done
except to cut it up for firewood.
Seasons passed and the twin oaks grew even
taller than the Great Oak had stood.
In winter the squirrels burrowed in leafy
dens and kept warm. In spring birds
built their nests in the oak’s strong branches.
In summer children from the town brought picnic lunches to eat in the
oak’s cool shade. In autumn squirrels,
deer and birds came from the woods and ate their fill of the oak’s acorns. The people of the town said that it was the
grandest tree that ever was.
I wrote that story for my children years ago. I was reminded of it earlier this year on a
trip to New Zealand. My wife and I spent
part of a day hiking in the mountains where there were kauri trees. These trees rival our redwoods. They are huge, and live for thousands of
years. One kauri that we hiked to, or
rather two kauri that we hiked to were known as the Siamese Twins. It was two trees that grew together and
appeared to be one gigantic tree. My
story in real life.
We are re-learning these days that we really are in
this together. While “this” for many is
the fight against COVID-19, it really is life.
We are in life together. Community
is important. We gravitate toward
community because we reflect the image of our Creator who is by nature Community
– Father, Son and Holy Spirit. One of
Jesus’ first actions in his public ministry was to form community; we know them
as the twelve apostles. The early Church
gathered in homes as community. Today’s “spiritual
but not religious” are correct in thinking that God is everywhere. But God is most powerfully present in
community. That is why we gather for
worship. “I have not spoken in secret, in some dark land; I did not
say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek Me in a waste place’; I, the LORD, speak
righteousness declaring things that are upright.” (Isaiah 45:19) Rather Jesus tells us, “For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)
His Peace,
Deacon Dan
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