The Sacrament of Tree Planting

On Saturday Becky and I will be in South Bend, Indiana, visiting Christopher, otherwise I’d be at the church to help plant the dogwood trees. I think there is something almost sacramental about the planting of trees.

The Prophet Jeremiah lived at one of the lowest times in the history of Judan and Israel. The people had long been disobedient to God’s call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with their God. Punishment had befallen them and God’s wrath was poured out on them by the hand of the Babylonian invaders. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was called by God to pronounce divine judgment against the people and suffered greatly for his obedience. In the midst of those devastating times, Jeremiah was given the opportunity to redeem a relative’s field – to buy some land, to plant an orchard and invest in the future. At the time it seemed like a crazy investment, a foolish idea. But God assured Jeremiah that his faithfulness would not fail, that the day would come when peace would prevail and fruit would be harvested.

Whenever we plant trees – trees that will outlive many of us – we are declaring confidence in the goodness of God.

These are difficult times. War rages in the Middle East. The economy is uncertain. Environmental decay, moral decline, family disintegration and more seem to threaten our very way of life. Why plant trees in so precarious a world as ours? Because God is sovereign and our trust is in Him.

Please, if you are able, bring your shovel to the Sacrament of Tree Planting on Saturday morning and make it a celebration of faith as we declare our confidence that by God’s grace these five trees will grow and prosper in the yard of Park Church and that they will see the goodness of the Lord from generation to generation.