The Parable of the Tree in Winter (We Have Prizes!)
One of the Regent College courses I took this past year was entitled “Tell It Slant: Parables as Spiritual Direction,” taught by the indisputably splendid Eugene Peterson
One of the assignments for the course was to write a personal parable, which turned out to be a lot harder than it sounds. A parable is not a metaphor, allegory or morality tale, and, maddeningly, no self-respecting parable-teller is allowed to explain what she means at the end. She has to fling her story out there (the word "parable" actually means “throw alongside”) like so much scattered seed, and then just wait and see what grows in the reader’s mind.
As a fun game (er, I mean, carefully crafted sociological experiment), I would love to discover what my little parable grows in your mind. So here’s what I propose: Read the story below. Then, in the comments section, share what it means to you. Try not to read other people’s interpretations until you give your own.
To make the fun even funner (not a word, I know, but I’m off school for the summer) …
I’ve Got Prizes!
I’m going to give away TWO PRIZE PACKS (each worth about 50 bucks ... but really, books and music are priceless, n'est-ce pas?). Each pack consists of:
1. A digital copy of my brand new ebook, THEOLOGY IN AISLE SEVEN
2. A CD copy of my latest recording, LOVE WAS HERE FIRST
3. A CD copy of the audio book version of Eugene Peterson’s Tell it Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers
One pack will go to the commenter who most closely guesses what I originally intended (if it’s a tie, whoever posts soonest will win.) The second pack will go to the commenter who has the most creative nothing-to-do-with-what-I-orig
The comment deadline for prize consideration is: 11:59pm EST, JUNE 19, 2012
Let’s Begin!
Update: Rose Capanna made this header. Rose Capanna is cool!
The Parable of the Tree in Winter
By Carolyn Arends
A man lived ensconced in a high-rise apartment of gleaming ceramic tile, granite and stainless steel. Six mornings a week he drove a sleek sedan to another high-rise, one of even greater heft and gleam, where he sat at a marble desk and traded commodities with an acumen that made earnings graphs climb. His sterile world was polished to a high gloss, and he liked it that way.
Gradually, however, the man found himself yearning for something different. He noticed that his environment was void of greenery, so he had some artificial plants installed in tastefully lit corners of his home and office. That pleased him for a time. But then he began to long for something a little more fragrant and alive.
The man made a radical decision. He purchased a bungalow just outside the city. He had the interior completely renovated, but in truth it was the exterior that had drawn him there. The house sat on a tidy patch of grass and featured a sturdy, flourishing maple tree in the back right corner of the yard.
It is hard to describe how much the man loved that tree. The first spring he often stood and rubbed his hand gently against its wonderfully gnarly bark, scratching an itch someplace deeper than his skin. In the summer he strung a hammock from its branches and telecommuted from beneath its extravagantly lush canopy of leaves. In the fall he watched it mellow and burnish into reds and oranges and golds; the colours made him warm and at home in a way he had never been before.
But nothing prepared the man for the winter. The tree, tragically, dropped all its leaves until it was bare and defenseless. With horror, he ascertained that the tree was dying before his eyes. He tried whatever he could think of—warm water to thaw the earth, fertilizer to encourage growth. He even trudged out under cover of night and wrapped the thick trunk in packing blankets. But the tree became implacably bowed and stood lifeless and forlorn.
The man was overcome with sorrow, and his sorrow soon turned to rage. He was a man of expediency, used to seeing what he willed come to fruition. He decided the tree had not been the splendid miracle he’d thought it was at all, but a defective organism that had profoundly failed him. He bought an axe and cut the tree down.
There was satisfaction in vengeful action, and it made the man feel better for a while. But spring came, and he began to miss all the quiet wonders the tree had provided. The longing intensified.
The man resolved to plant a new tree, but determined he would research nurseries until he found an infallible source. Eventually, he had a designer greenhouse ship him a resilient breed of maple by climate-controlled freight.
The new maple took brilliantly to his yard, and the man loved it even more than the old one. It was not quite big enough yet to handle his hammock, but he resolved to be patient. The tree thrived, green to gold. But winter was coming. The man waited anxiously, checking bark and root with increasing obsessiveness as the temperatures dropped.
The leaves fell, and soon there was no sign of life.
The man was livid. He threatened to sue the nursery and the freight company and the weatherman. His axe was not emphatic enough; he bought a chain saw. When the tree had been felled, he burned it in a backyard inferno. The next day he went to his fire pit and sat late into the evening in a gloomy, desolate kinship with the ashes.
He managed to resist planting another tree for a full year. But then yet another spring came and he knew he had to try again. He had a genetically engineered Cappadocian Maple shipped by freightliner from the UK. Soil was flown in from a special source in Japan. Three kinds of enriched fertilizer were combined in a lab in Kentucky. The man paid six of Canada’s top landscapers to supervise the planting and devise a plan for sustained growth. His tree would not fail.
It shimmered in spring, flourished in summer and glowed in the fall. But the man could not enjoy one day of his tree, so worried was he about the winter. At the first frost, the maple began to wither, and the man sank into a terrible despair.He hunkered down in his home of steel and marble and drew the blinds. His beard grew. His mail spilled over the box and into his driveway. He felt hollow and forsaken and as dead as the maple.
Then came a knock at the door, so persistent that the man finally lumbered to his front hall. Squinting through the peephole he saw his neighbour, standing on his porch with pruning shears in his hand. Furious at being taunted in this way, the man flung open his door.
“Hi,” said the neighbour. “I was doing some yardwork today and wondered if you wanted some help trimming that beauty maple of yours.”
“Funny,” said the man, bitterly.
“What?” said the neighbour, confused. “Listen, when spring comes and that baby isn’t dormant any longer, you’ll be glad you cleaned her up a little.”
The man stared. He cleared his throat. He blinked back tears.
“OK,” he said. “Thanks.”
“Come on,” said the neighbour, who lived in linoleum and Arborite and never, until this very minute, seemed to be anyone at all. “Let’s go. I can’t wait for those spring maple buds to blossom in a week or two. Always feels like a miracle after these long, dead winters. Kind of makes it all worth it, don’t you think?”
The man nodded, barely comprehending, but feeling a stirring of something like hope. The neighbour before him was no British arborist; he had zero experience with Japanese soil or laboratory fertilizer. But he seemed to know some important things about trees and seasons, so the man followed him out into the yard.
What does this story mean to you? Share your interpretation in the comment section below. (Remember, if you comment by June 19th you might even win prizes!)
Photo Credit: Zazzle.com
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will eventually receive a few pennies!. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I love and believe you might love too. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Comments
Parable interpretation
Oops. I might have missed that deadline, didn’t realize it was midnight eastern time. But in the interest of the challenge, like Joseph (in the A.L. Webber version) I’ll say, “Though I cannot guarantee, to get it right, I'll have a go. “
The man is initially living his life without God. He dabbles a bit in some forms of spirituality, but eventually decides to make a wholehearted commitment. He joins a church where he has an encounter with the one true God. His newfound faith was exciting and miraculous, but when the winter of doubt crept in, the man did not have the patience to wait, so he gave up. Having experienced faith once, he had to return again, but when doubt overwhelmed and things did not go the way he planned, he became angry with God. The man did not have a full understanding of the seasons of life or the character of God. Some of his beliefs were incorrect.
At his last effort, someone wise comes alongside the man and points out that he needs to prune some parts of the tree- sin, false ideas about God. The man needed to re-shape his tree in order for it to truly grow and then he needed to wait patiently for spring, when the tree of faith would flourish and provide hope and comfort once again.
Parable
Sometimes all the knowledge and resources in the world can't take the place of a kind soul who is willing to hold your hand and walk with you through the winters of life.
Good parable!
parable
I'll leave the deep meaning interpretations to the deep thinkers. I'll go with the very likely NOTHING to do with the original interpretation and hopefully (at least try) and make just one person laugh. I'll relate it back to my favorite sport... hockey.
So often general managers and/or coaches sit in their sterile offices evaluating the young (and sometimes old) talent on their teams. "He had a nice season, but he's getting too old to re-sign. The new management wants him gone." Or, "He's a young talent that has shown promise in the past, but he fell off at the end of the season. He just can't make it a full year. Dump him." The end result is the same... get rid of him. Instead of giving those veteran players a chance to stand tall and hold up the rest of the team, or those younger players a chance to fully develop and bloom. Instead of being patient with them, providing them the coaching and care they need, hey're cast off into the abyss of trades to other teams or worse... the KHL.
Parable
What jumped out at me first was that the tree represents faith and/or what we would call our "relationship with God." Things go along swimmingly for a while, but when darkness and doubt crop up in our hearts, we tend to think everything is over, that it was all a mistake. But if we only wait it out, we see that "joy comes in the morning." The neighbor is like the Holy Spirit leading us back to rest in God.
maybe...
Does anyone think that this man and his neighbor might be two aspects within a single person?
Aspects of the Man
I certainly find that it works that way for me. I can be blind to the truth (that the tree will bloom again in the Spring) and sometimes help the blind to see (that the tree will bloom again in the Spring). Some of us can see things clearly, while others cannot. Part of growing up, I think, is to learn to ask questions when necessary. That helps to make a fuller person, someone able to see, if not in full, at least partially, all the time.
1 Corinthians 13
11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
Parable thoughts
Seems to be a tale of instant Christianity: we want it all right now but the Lord has His times and His seasons for growth and sometimes we need to be patient and wait for Him to produce the fruit.
Made for Community
We were made for relationships, created in the image of God who is himself in relationship with the other members of the trinity, a unity & community of self-giving love. Thus, at our core we were created to be connected to Him and to others. Yet when sin entered the world, this image-bearing got distorted. Rather than love, trust, and complete openness, shame & fear characterized our relationship with God & others. Like the man in the story, we try to deny our desire for connection by perfectly ordering & controlling our world. But it falls short; it does not satisfy. And so we open ourselves slowly to other living things, trying to assuage the ache in us to be known & loved. The man found the maple and as he began to interact with it, his heart began to grow and experience the joy of loving and caring for something. He was embodying an aspect of image-bearing: stewarding the creation. Yet even this did not fully satisfy, because the tree didn't do what he expected it to do. He was still alone in his care for it, still trying to control his environment through his own understanding of what was needed. Only when his neighbour, who had a different understanding, came into the picture did the man have the opportunity to find what his heart truly longed for: connection to another who could enrich his experience of life in the world and offer him more than just the beauty of a tree in the seasons; he could offer him the joy of sharing in that beauty together. By opening himself up to the neighbour's wisdom and offer of help, the man was stepping into community. It would require sacrifice -- he would have to lay down his views of how to care for the maple and his careful control of his world -- but sacrifice is the fullest expression of love. Thus, as we relate to God and to one another in our communities, and as we give ourselves in love, sacrificing & working alongside one another, we find the desires of our hearts for connection, knowing, belonging, and acceptance to be filled in the love we receive from Him and from His children, our fellow image-bearers. And we find that the joys of life are fuller and sweeter, and the sorrows more bearable, when shared together.
Parable of the Tree
Quickly reading the parable I thought how successful the man was in worldly ways but was not alive at all. A tiny spark inside wanted to grow and live. He made some limited choices to imitate new life. Moving to a more natural living space and enjoying the beauty of a tree fed his inner being. The man still was blind to how the tree was related to nature and how the seasons were all a part of the cycle of life. The man seemed to try so hard with his earthly knowledge to use all his resources to try to force the tree to live and grow as he desired. When the tree didn't behave as he had hoped he became disappointed and upset and cut it down. The man became depressed and only hopeful after a neighbour offered hope and help in preparing the tree for the spring.
Now what did I get from the parable? I think, like the man working and living in a lifeless tower, we choose to separate ourselves from the things that give us life. This could include encouraging the pursuit of earning more and more money, not being truly present to family, friends and colleagues and generally not feeding our spiritual relationships. We may think we are working hard in life and are very knowledgeable but without the foundation of why we are doing what we are doing, life will always seem like we are fighting the seasons. Only when the man accepted the help of the neighbour and trusted him did his hope and happiness start to return. This is our call to community. We must recognize that we are all connected in life and its cycles and that we must reach out to others and let others reach out to ourselves in order to grow and truly live.
I could go as far as saying the neighbour reflects God and that we are allowed to struggle and make decisions in life that either allow us to grow or whither but that God will offer us assistance when we need it or ask for it. I would further suggest that cultivating our relationship with God will help smooth the struggles and fertilize our lives with many blessings.
Life is messy. Help each other out.
If you plot out an earnings graph to illustrate its climb, you might forget the ups and downs of the markets caused by the people who buy, sell, invest, spend and earn. Likewise, if you plot out a graph of a tree's growth over a century, you might forget the seasonal dormancies, the storms, the beavers and the forest fires. You can fool yourself, with tile and steel, into thinking that life is simple and polished, if you ignore the lives of those who design, build and clean. But no matter the materials you use, be it cash, chrome, or costly compost, if you want to engage with life, you will end up dealing with life's messes. Hopefully, you won't have to do so alone. Others will have more experience with messes you've never dealt with, just as you have gained experiences with messes they may never even have considered.
Life is messy. Help each other out.
The Parable
I first read this parable a couple'a days ago, fairly late at night, and then promptly feel asleep on the couch (which happens most evenings some time after 9:00). When I awoke and dragged myself off to bed, just before falling asleep, I had what I thought was a clear understanding of the parable's meaning. Let's see if I can put it in writing, and see if I got it right . . .
The man in the parable has gone along, living his successful life, when he suddenly feels God's calling, as represented by the tree. He knows he needs to seek Him out, and tries - perhaps through reading scripture, perhaps by attending a local church - but fails to gain the understanding he wants, and finds his faith faltering. Finally, in frustration, he turns away.
Drawn back, he tries again, in a big way, to find his faith. Again he fails. And turns away from it in a big way, as well.
Drawn back once again, he tries, in an even bigger way. Just before failing, though, his understanding is aided by the neighbor. And while it is not stated explicitly, his faith succeeds.
The main point, I think, is that sometimes we need someone to help us through a rough spot in our understanding of the Christian faith. That's the neighbor to the man in the parable, and for me, has been several different people in my journey.
Parable of the Tree in Winter
In a nutshell, "They don't know about new life in Christ unless we tell them."
The winter tree interpretation
The parable to me means that only God is in control. And that even the more unsuccessful people can show us that God is truely in control. The man being successful and the neibour being visually not, showed the man the compassion that God has for us all if we can set aside our own pride. Successful people are full of pride and when faced with the fear of not actually being in control, frustration and vengfullness takes its place. Peace turns to chaos and happiness turns to sorrow etc. Total control must go to God and we get comfort through Jesus that God is listening and seeing. God reads our hearts not our lips, and actions. Peoples success in life is only given by Gods hand, and he uses us to show it. That's what it means to me. Even though I may not win the contest, just joining the fun of conversing about God with one of my favorite singers, is prize enough. Always a fan. Jesse Mattila
P.S. I met Kieth Kitchen at a church I use to attended and he is my cousins favorite singer. I hope one day I get to meet you at a church concert. Jesse.
We want good things, but we
We want good things, but we don't recognize them when we have them.
We want good things, but the very things we want and need we destroy.
Part of the role of fellowship, of the church, is to help us recognize the good things in our lives and nurture them.
Contentment
Very well written and lots of different thoughts from it. I think what hit me the most was that it is a gift to be content and peaceful and see beauty in every season of our lives. You don't have to be a great scholar or theologian to have this gift. God chooses to give it to all who look to Him first.
The Parable of the Tree in Winter
The spiritual part of us is real, although not concrete like the world around us. It's much like the wind, often times as quiet and subdued as a spring zephyr. The Holy spirit, in concert with our own spiritual nature and longings, can move us to an understanding of God. When we discover Him, it's like finding a new life, something fresh and beautiful. Over time, our understanding of Him grows and we see nuances of His character that we didn't see before. That knowledge increases our love and our admiration. However, there always seems to be a time when God leads us to a place where our vision of Him is put to the test, a crisis of belief. Our current vision must die and lie dormant while we wrestle with the inconsistent circumstances which defy what we held so dear. It is in those times of watching, waiting, and mourning, that we are led to a new understanding of God. It is similar to our previous understanding of Him but now new and richer and a little more mature.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
For reasons I cannot explain;
For reasons I cannot explain; it made me cry?!
Parable interpretation
Very simply, I would say that the parable teaches that if you put your hope in the wrong things they will always disappoint you; or you won't understand their true purpose. The neighbor in the parable represents a Christian who speaks words of truth.
The Meaning of the Parable
To understand God's plan, ya gotta give up control. Even if it's scary!
tree parable
This is the first thought I had upon enjoying this tale...... the man who lived in the sterile environment was really the one who was dying/dead inside, not the tree. He had been disconnected from the breath of God available to him through nature. The breath of God was all around him and in the tree but the deadness in his being kept him from appreciating each season of life, even the season of winter rest and waiting. The way he made meaning of his world, through his own power and control over things could not begin to make sense of the marvel of a simple tree. Despite all this deadness inside the man, God's breath of life prevailed, in reaching out to him even in his despondency, through another living thing.... his neighbour.
Carolyn, thanks for the story and of course your ongoing blog. Awesome! Brenda B.
The Parable of The Tree in Winter
As in most parables, it seems there can be more than one interpretation depending upon ones perspective. For example,
The Prodigal Son can have three possible points of view:
- a forgiving father who has his own story to tell,
- an older brother who can make his own self-righteous claims, and then
- a younger sow-his-wild-oats brother who grows up the "hard way".
In "The Parable of The Tree in Winter" there are also three possible points of view:
- an innocent maple tree going about the business it was created for,
- a controlling figure of a man, empty, yearning, and angry, and
- a helpful neighbor who shows a lost soul the truth and saves a third tree from an unfair, undeserved demise.
Doesn't everyone know a tree in winter is supposed to go dormant?
This act will lower its metabolism and save energy in order
to protect itself from the cold and bitterness of winter, to break out in the green and liveliness of spring,
to jump into the fun and joyfullness of summer, then on to dazzle all with the beauty and awesomeness of autumn.
Maybe just like the tree, each character is in a different season of life.
Where was the nice neighbor two trees ago? Did he notice the extreme care his neighbor took in prepping
and planting and enjoying his tree(s)? Did he happen to notice this mad man then cutting down these
perfectly tended healthy trees? Was his offer to help a truly kind gesture or was it perhaps an attempt
to save yet another maple from a tragic and sudden end?
What about this crazy tree razer, a man used to being in control of most things in his
whatever-money-can-buy life? He is crushed in his discovery of something beyond
his control, leaving him distraught, even angry, bereft of power, lonely, and empty --
until one day a neighbor knocks on his door...
So, an interpretation of "The Parable of The Tree in Winter":
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a compassionate, kindly neighbor
offering a helping hand to a fellow creature, whether tree or man, in need.
Could it be that simple?
The parable of the tree in winter
My interpretation:
Happiness generated by our own efforts is fleeting and temporary, but joy whose source is in truth is sustaining. The man's self-obtained happiness gained by his limited understanding of trees in winter were insufficient. When the neighbor shared the truth with the man about seasonal effects, what was the result? immediate joy. Our understanding of the truth of God's love, grace, and blessings brings us sustainable joy.
The Case of the Aborted Trees
I think Barbara Blackburn, who has already commented below, nailed the core meaning best so far, if I'm guessing right.
But there are additional principles I see here. The issue of his lack of observation or discernment (how could he not know about seasons?--even a small child does) stands out to me the most.
I also see it relating strongly to relationships.
The trees could be successive wives. :)
Or friends.
So much throwing away of people happens today.
The tree in winter
The attempt of man to quench the deep yearning in his heart .....knowing that there is more to this life than him and his cold , sterile environment.
what the parable me means to me
the man who planted the tree liked to have life all figured out, and have control of every facet of it. He believed he could do what needed to be done and everything would turn out just as he felt it should. However, no matter how hard he tried to 'control' the life of the tree, it was out of his control. And he didn't understand it. It frustrated him. Made him angry. He tried harder...did more...tried to do better, and still, he had no control of what happened to the life of the tree. He didn't actually control what made it beautiful, and he didn't control what caused it to 'die' or go dormant. He was sure he knew what it took, and as he realized his lack of control, it caused him great despair. No matter how hard he tried, bad things happened. The neighbor helped him see that although some things don't make sense, although some things are out of our control, beautiful things come from it anyway. A reality that although we don't always understand how or why, God does. And out of what seems like a failure or a 'dark' thing, God can bring beauty. Our own lives, we can try as hard as we want to 'control' things, make them look good, live right....God is still in control of the things we can't control. And He can still making something beautiful of it if we just trust Him and realize His plan and way is better then our own efforts.
That is such a lovely
That is such a lovely parable. The man in his "ivory tower" seems to be us without God. Trying to control our life. We try to find happiness in every place we can think of. In our North American culture it seems to be in things. "He who has the most toys when he dies wins" kind of mentality. But God has prepared us for so much more. He has put eternity in our hearts.
So we try to put a substitute type of God. Thus, the fake plants. We take God and turn him into what we think he should be. Never really yielding to him but using all the words and actions that we think will give us what we are looking for. The "I am not religious, I am Spiritual" kind of crowd. But there is still something missing.
So we go to where we think we will find God. And yet, we still want to be in control. Notice his little perfectly manicured patch of property. His ideal of what he thinks "church" should be. But he remains on his own. It is still what he wants it to be. And again he is not satisfied. When the tree dies he is left again wanting. Although he paid others to come and work on the tree he never does any research himself on the seasons of the tree. Like the kind of like people that come to church every Sunday to hear and put a little something in the offering plate but never really reading God's word for themselves and making it personal.
Because we know in our hearts that God is the answer we can become disappointed when he does not meet our criteria as to what God should be. And because there is no where else to go we can become disillusioned. But the yearning does not go away. The man kept planting tree after tree.
It was when the neighbor came along and helped him to understand what was truly happening that the man had hope. We were never meant to spend our eternal lives on our own. We need one another. I suspect that the neighbor had watched the ritual of enjoyment and then tearing down of the tree. When he saw that the tree remained he found the moment to come in and share what the man needed to know. He was ready to hear what needed to be said. If he had come in any sooner the man would have been broken enough to let God be God or too impatient for the leaves to return.
God does not force himself on us. But when we are ready to receive him, as he truly is, he is there. And God uses others to share himself. But we too must wait on God. Not move too quickly.
It is such a lovely parable, Carolyn. And it touched my heart. Thank you for sharing.
Parable - God's calendar and Man's calendar
I find your parable to be useful in understanding the nature of God's calendar and His seasons, and the different "times" that we humans try to impose upon them. And with that, of course, a little about human nature versus the natural world.
We learn through study of the Torah and Tanakh that God has a calendar, and a way of seeing time and history. His calendar is a lunar calendar, and His way of seeing time and history is cyclical. God's calendar is cyclical through the phases of the moon,where each new month is marked by the new moon.
So to, God has appointed times and seasons - His feast days - which are built around the agricultural year - yet another cycle. Each year, the feasts repeat, just as the agricultural cycle and seasons repeat. There are cycles of 7 days, 7 years, and the 50 year jubilee cycle as well, all ordained and explained by God in His teachings.
In the same way, the stories and events in the Bible keep repeating over and over. The characters change, but the stories are the same. Many times these are shadows of the eventual fulfillment of prophecies, some of which we are yet to be fulfilled.
In this light, the tree in your story is obviously following the cycle ordained for it by God as it goes into a time of sabbath for the winter months. Trees, of course, have no choice in the matter, unlike us humans! We no longer look at time in a cyclical way, and most of us are far removed from connection to, and respect for, God's apppointed seasons. We try to change the times and seasons to fit our will. Unlike the tree, we have free will on whether to follow God's teachings or not. We see time as a progression, not as a repeating cycle, even in our faith life. Perhaps it is the influence of the modern evolutionary ideas creeping into our thinking! For whatever reason, we fail to wait on God and rely on faith, and destroy our "trees" before they can put out fruit. But if we have patience and wait on the works of God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit, He will bring forth the fruit.
I'm looking forward to reading your new book - you have been very productive in your creative pursuits! Shalom - Bill
people
I think of the lonely sterile world we live in without people we care about. And when they come into our lives they give us much joy until they disapoint us. We can cut them out of our lives and look for companions that are more perfect, but they will always disapoint. In the end once we understand that everyone is imperfect and not only except it but embrace it we will find peace.
So, now I just don't know the role of the neighbor...plus Im sure, since this IS a parable, God has a place in it, and Ive clearly missed it! Oh well, looking forward to the true meaning!
The Parable of the Tree in Winter
God is like the maple tree. There are times when we can feel that he is near and we can rest in the knowledge that he will protect us and keep us safe. There are times when we can gaze at his glory as he provides the colour of fire. But there are times when we feel that he has gone and abandoned us. These are times that true faith must prevail. If we try to mold or modify him or try to replace him with something else, we will end up feeling more abandoned and more alone. We need to have faith that he is in charge and knows what he is doing and that although we can not see, hear or feel him, he is still there. Once we have learned what he needs to teach us, we will see some small glimpse of him, like a small maple blossom, to renew our faith and celebrate in the knowledge that he will always protect us and be there
My Tree in Winter Parable Interpretation
The tree represents Christ. The city is the world. The man was seeking life and found it in Christ but because he didn't know that life with Christ would include times of testing he kept giving up (cutting down the tree) and looking for new and better versions of Christianity, via the "experts". This caused him frustration and confusion and hindered his spiritual growth until a simple Christian led him to understand that hard times in the Christian life are normal and are worth the growth and beauty that are a result of it. (Thanks, Carolyn, I liked your parable.)
Parable: a tree in winter
To me this parable speaks of the yearning in the human heart for full and eternal life. Some people seek this through getting closer to nature, a tangible source of life. But still it seems futile, people die, and we despair of realizing the dream. We, as Christians, can be a friend who comes alongside, who knows the way, and begin to guide a person to the eternal life he seeks. We may not have had all the status and money smarts of some but we can share the truth that people need.
Bloom and Grow Forever
There are seasons of our life when what we love most, our creative spark, the exhilaration and satisfaction of our calling, will seem to die, to leave us. The way to understand these seasons is to be in community with others who can help us learn how to cultivate the gift so that it flourishes, blooms again and grows.
tree in winter
There are a few things that I got out of this. Since I've never analyzed a parable before, and am not adept at stories, here it all is in point form.
1. Don't expect something/someone to be other than what it/he/she it is (As in don't expect things that aren't part of the way God designed them to be)
2. Don't give up on someone or something when it/s/he is not appearing at it's/his/her best -- or as you might assume they should be. Life is sometimes hidden, even when it's there (that fits with the man and the tree, and also the neighbour and the man)
3. a kind word at the right moment brings transformation and hope.
4. even the deadest looking plant is not beyond hope in the right season; and even the most controlling, angry, clueless people are not beyond reach, in the right season. There's hope for the clueless
5. seasons are not just for plants.
Oh -- and I particularly like the line: The first spring he often stood and rubbed his hand gently against its wonderfully gnarly bark, scratching an itch someplace deeper than his skin.
well said!
Tree in Winter Parable
Obviously the man was raised by Corporate Big Business Machine to create wealth. As a result, he was clearly so ensconced in this world that his only course of action was to move tremendous amounts of money to solve whatever problem or concern he might ever encounter. As powerful and influencetial as he was his world had no connection to any kind of actual reality, so no one around him knew the basic common knowledge variables that make the world turn, and the trees grow, and the sun rise. Why? Because those are not things made of man. They are things made of God. With all is well power and influence he needed someone closer to the ground to point out that which is most obvious to most of us - but he had risen too high to hear is own breathing.
The Tree Parable
Some days you simply need to rest. Its so simple. We forget about seasons and worry about our lives and think we need "expert plans" and "formulas" for optimum effectiveness. But really we just need to stop, merely breath and be "stumps" for awhile. If we simply rest we can finally hear what is real in our heart and what needs attention. That can feel like a scary pruning, but rest and attending to the heart will grow beautiful new life in us when it is time.
The rest we find in Christ is a simple gift. Its an invitation from a humble servant king who invites us to stop striving and allow His Formula for Life be all we need to live.
Thank you Carolyn!
Rest
It is hard to rest. I think I've only understood it for brief periods in my life. I need to rest, it's clear, and yet I keep myself busy - even if it's doing nothing - playing a game, reading news or blogs on the net. Those things are not wrong, and in fact, can be used as rest for some - but not for me right now. I do them to avoid trying figure out how get my life back under control. To have all the pieces exactly where they should be. To get the puzzle done even if I'm spending hours trying to fit the wrong piece in.
Reading your comments, along with the parable, have reminded me to wait. It's not quite winter for me, but it could be if I keep going - and I don't want to give in to anger, disappointment and despair.
Veering off to the side, the other thing you and Carolyn both reminded me of was the preciousness of true communion with God. I haven't read the book "A Tree full of Angels" by Macrina Wiederkehr but this quote was on Pinintrest, and it says what I often feel.
“My soul felt especially fastened to God at that moment, even though it didn’t last long, and my distractions soon returned. Still, it was a moment of being in love with Him and that one moment was more precious and nourishing than a whole year of words.”
I want to rest, to allow winter and pruning for a chance to have more soul fastening moments.
Thank you and thanks to Carolyn for taking me by the chin and turning my eyes towards Christ.
lovely thought
I needed that word tonight, Arlene. Thank you.
I love this! When I read
I love this! When I read this I envision a heart longing for intimacy. A heart that realizes he has need of something, a deep longing but not the understanding of what it is or how to get it. He begins the search but when things get hard, when it becomes painful, he stops. He cannot get through the winter without the neighbor; without realizing the need he has for the neighbor and what the neighbor can teach him.
I think that the man is me (or you), the tree is our journey towards intimacy with the Father, and the neighbor is the work of the Holy Spirit The winter for me represents the trials and pain that we try so desperately to avoid. Longing for the benefits of the shade, fruit, and strength of the tree but without having to die to get it. But that's just me! :) Thanks for that Carolyn! I may be way out to lunch but I enjoyed it none the less. Bless you!
Parable of the Tree in Winter
To me it seems, the tree is man's attempt to find God (religion) and the man makes every effort to make it work for him, but it will never satisfy...but he thinks it will, for a season. The neighbour is Jesus who knocks on the door of his heart, to teach him about abiding in God.
Winter trees
Reminds me of when we moved to the high desert. It was late spring, but all the cottonwoods were ashen, and from a distance looked like clouds of smoke. I was certain a fire had swept through the valley. Winters here are harsh -- cold, dry, and long. Trees and all other living things hide their resources under the ground; they need to conserve all their energy to survive. Even evergreens turn coppery and retreat into hibernation. Having come from the lush Pacific Northwest, it was a shock to see what this rocky, barren country could do to these majestic trees.
Sometimes resources that you have always depended on, whatever they may be for you -- faith, knowledge, passions, talents -- just aren't there for you. They seemingly are exhausted of all meaning, and you doubt you'll ever be able to revive them again. But instead of patience and careful pruning, you try to torture them back into their former glory, or you give up on them, or you try something else, or you retreat into sterile apathy.
Wisdom and patience doesn't try to rush the cycle of growth, subsistence, conservation, and rejuvenation.
Parable (meaning)
The miraculous gift of eternal life is occurring all around us whether we recognize, understand or appreciate it or not. Jesus - like the tree - lived and died and lived AGAIN (halleluah!) Many in this world - like the man from the high rise - are too busy and distracted from seeing eternal life or are blinded and don't understand, know or recognize HOPE and life. Hopefully, Christians (like the good neighbor) are attentive and diligent to point out to those in their dark despair that because of Jesus Christ and Easter Morning (Halleluah again!) that - like the soft buds on that maple tree in the springtime - eternal life and hope springs eternal.
Our eternal God set the earthly life cycle into motion. Because of sin, there needs to be death and pruning (self and flesh)for there to be new life (Jesus and His Spirit) and the multiplicity of good works and souls won into the kingdom.
All that from a tree in the winter.
The devil might want to cut
The devil might want to cut us down, but God sends people into our lives to help us clean up some messes, rejuvinate us, and help us get back on the right path.
The somebody we already are ...
There are so many pressures in this world of ours for us to conform to both our own and other's expectations ... whether they are realistic or not. We are at a point in history where we seem to believe that we can make anything into whatever and anybody into whoever. Now that we've mapped the human genome, just imagine where this could lead us if we are not careful. In 'the parable of the tree in winter', I see the man's struggle with the tree as his inward struggle to make himself into somebody else, someone who he is inherently not capable of being. However, the man's good neighbor reminds him that he already has a purpose and role in this life and that he is already fully equipped for that role and purpose, but that he will need to periodically tend to his role and purpose so that he can be fruitful. And, sometimes doesn't it take a good neighbor (i.e. someone who is capable and willing to see past our sarcasm, sadness, and cynicism) to help us figure out 'the somebody we already are' so that we have hope and purpose in this world of God's.
Thanks for the invitation to interpret ... that was fun!
Carolyn: It's always good when the mental juices are invited to flow, and your contest definitely got them flowing (for me, and plenty of others too)! Very well done (good parable), and thanks for the invite. For me, I think I missed your basic (as you say) message because "I couldn't see the forest for the trees!". Sorry, I couldn't resist! :o)
... purposed for glorious living.
"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." Ephesians 1:11-14, The Message
posting for updates
posting for updates
Wait patiently for the seasons of love and relationship
Relationships go through seasons and you must wait patiently for the spring. The man is rich and successful, yet realizes something is missing in his life. He finds a beautiful relationship and is euphoric as it flourishes. We do not know specifically what the winters of life are for this man. The first winter dormancy seems like that of pregnancy and childbirth when every structure a young marriage relationship has ever known is rearranged and turned upside down. Whatever these winters are, the man chooses to divorce himself from the relationship by obliterating the tree. He does learn from each, and each beloved is more costly - until finally he learns what plain, common ordinary folk who know how to love and be there in season and out of season know: "love is not love that alters when it alteration finds," and "iron sharpens iron."
parable interpretation
This parable to me speaks of the seasons of our life. We have a gradual awakening to the fact that there is something bigger in our lives than just ourselves. We open up ourselves to this "connection" with nature, spirituality, etc. As we go through the seasons of our life, we experience different events, emotions, etc. In our blindness we do not see that when the season is dark (winter) we are not cut off from God, and we do not need to despair and lose our faith, turn our back on God. We must re-group, have faith, prune and prepare for the spring to come, and enter the next season of our life with God's grace.
Parable
Hi Carolyn,
Your parable reminds me of some episodes in my life when I have put huge effort into pursuing a direction or cause without making a prayerful and wise decision beforehand. I could have saved myself a lot of grief and effort if I had asked the right person in the first place. The neighbour reminds me of Jesus: he speaks the truth in a gracious way and leads the maple tree lover in the right direction.
Thanks for the parable, and of course, for the music.
parable interpretation
Sparkley jobs and plastic homes are sterile, cold, confining, predictable.
Instead get involved with life, appreciate the beauty, be open to the wonder.
But ...
that also makes you vulnerable to pain.
Harsh, maddening. Life sucking disappointment.
Hope lies in the knowledge that Spring will return.
Beauty will reemerge.
Don't give up and hide again.
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