The outside church Christmas lights are up, our halls are decked, the giving tree stands ready to have tags taken as it’s undecked, our home-grown devotionals have found their way into many hands already, our children are preparing for the pageant, our choirs are filling practices with Christmas music, and a small forest of themed trees is growing in Fellowship Hall. It’s beginning to look and sound a lot like Christmas at Fauntleroy Church!
Advent begins this Sunday, December 27 with communion served during worship. As we make our Advent journey together, you’ll notice that we are taking what feels a tree-lined path to Christmas. That’s intentional! “Under the Tree” is our 2022 Advent theme, and immersed in it, we’ll encounter Biblical stories and passages in which perspective is gained and the indwelling presence of God felt under the boughs of trees.
You may know that the tradition of having a Christmas tree only goes back about 500 years. But long before that, Ancient Romans were known to mark the winter solstice by decorating their homes with evergreen boughs – symbols of hope and life in a cold and dormant season. Even longer before that, humans found meaning and glimpses of the Divine in the presence of trees.
I have a Bible in which all the passages about nature are highlighted in green. Much like the more popular red-letter Bible that highlights Jesus’ spoken words (as presented by each Gospel writer), a green Bible draws one’s attention to just how much life and faith has intertwined with nature in the experiences of many. One of the things I’ve learned in reading this “green-letter” Bible is that references to trees abound in scripture. There are cedars and spruce, fig trees, oaks, olive trees, acacia, almond, apple, pine, pistachio, willow and more. Hundreds of references to trees can be found in the Hebrew scriptures and New Testament! Reinforcing the importance of their presence are bookend references to the tree of life in the first verses of Genesis and the last verses of Revelation – its boughs hanging over the garden of Eden as life begins, and as our scriptures end, its boughs stretching to both sides of the river of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God. Under the canopy of both these trees of life, the story of our faith unfolds and deepens.
This Advent, as we prepare for Jesus and God’s love to be born in the world anew, some of the trees under which we’ll find ourselves include the oak of Mamre, as Abraham and Sarah entertain angels unaware. Then, we’ll nod toward the hope-bringing oaks of righteousness in Isaiah 61 (a common Advent passage) as we enjoy our children’s pageant, “Under the Tree.” Next, we’ll meet Jesus and Zaccheus under the sycamore tree of Jericho as joy in that encounter prompts Zaccheus to embrace the world and life in radically different ways. As we near Christmas, we’ll draw near to the tree of life and a vision in Revelation of the world dwelling in wholeness and peace under the canopy of God’s healing, nourishing love. Though we’re taking this different, tree-lined path toward Christmas this year, the messages of the season will be found in the shade of rich boughs overhead, carols, candles and one another before finally, we emerge on the doorstep of the traditional Christmas story on Christmas Eve.
We hope you’ll meet us under some tree boughs in worship this Advent. There together, I trust we’ll find some of the most meaningful presents of Christmas: welcome, good news, joy, shared life and the indwelling love of God!
With hope,
Pastor Leah
