There is a thorn tree in Glastonbury, England. Legend has it that Joseph of Arimethea traveled to England 2,000 years ago, and planted the thorns of this tree, on Wearyall Hill or therabouts. Each year for as long as anyone can remember, a sprig is cut from the tree and sent to the Queen where she places it on the dining table for Christmas.The tree blooms twice a year at Christmas and Easter. Events like these are important.They may seem small or even insignificant to some, but really they are the fabric that help us hold societies together.
I will share a bit of the story:
I will share a bit of the story:
According to legend, Saint Joseph travelled to the spot after Christ was crucified, taking with him the Holy Grail of Arthurian folklore.He is said to have stuck his wooden staff – which had belonged to Jesus – into the ground on Wearyall Hill before he went to sleep.When he awoke it had sprouted into a thorn tree, which became a shrine for Christians across Europe.
I am not simply speaking of customs in England obviously, but everywhere. Families and towns and cities and states have traditions and customs to mark who we are and what we are. They keep us mindful that we are not the only occupants of this Earth. We walk in the footsteps of so many others who struggled with life in days past, in many of the same ways we do today, even if we face new and different challenges.
I was saddened to read last December that this beautiful tree, alive with meaning and symbolism, was vandalized terribly.The news made it into several papers. A once beautiful tree now gnarled and hacked down- to what end? Sometimes, these small incidents are harder for me to bear then greater ones, like a Tsunami or an earthquake. Terrible news and destruction on that scale hurts us all, as we view human frailty.Yet so often in these enormous tragedies we read headlines which show the beauty of the human spirit and its willingness to rise above itself for a noble cause. The goodness that comes from tragedy, washes over me and makes life tolerable even amid deep suffering- From a headline story today:
Workers at the disaster-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan say they expect to die from radiation sickness as a result of their efforts to bring the reactors under control
The so-called Fukushima 50, the team of brave plant workers struggling to prevent a meltdown to four reactors critically damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are being repeatedly exposed to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to bring vital cooling systems back online.
Speaking tearfully through an interpreter by phone, the mother of a 32-year-old worker said: “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation."
Truly, these are brave souls willing to lay down their lives for others. Everything in that sacrifice tells me of the nobility of hearts.
But what of the vandalized tree? This tells a story of human wickedness doesn't it? Or perhaps just human stupidity. Let us hope it is the latter. I despise hearing that someone young or old would behave in this awful way. I want us to be better than that and these incidents remind me how often we fall short of it. I do not exempt myself in any way from this behavior. Though I had nothing to do with this particular vandalism, there have been countless times I have committed equally as awful acts. I may have cut down no trees, but too often I have cut down a person with words or thoughts, pushed away a friend in need, or ignored the stranger I pass who only wanted a smile.
The so-called Fukushima 50, the team of brave plant workers struggling to prevent a meltdown to four reactors critically damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are being repeatedly exposed to dangerously high radioactive levels as they attempt to bring vital cooling systems back online.
Speaking tearfully through an interpreter by phone, the mother of a 32-year-old worker said: “My son and his colleagues have discussed it at length and they have committed themselves to die if necessary to save the nation."
Truly, these are brave souls willing to lay down their lives for others. Everything in that sacrifice tells me of the nobility of hearts.
But what of the vandalized tree? This tells a story of human wickedness doesn't it? Or perhaps just human stupidity. Let us hope it is the latter. I despise hearing that someone young or old would behave in this awful way. I want us to be better than that and these incidents remind me how often we fall short of it. I do not exempt myself in any way from this behavior. Though I had nothing to do with this particular vandalism, there have been countless times I have committed equally as awful acts. I may have cut down no trees, but too often I have cut down a person with words or thoughts, pushed away a friend in need, or ignored the stranger I pass who only wanted a smile.
I wish we all were better.
I wish I was better.
Lent has me thinking on this matter quite a bit. It is designed to.But after Lent there is Easter.
Today I read this headline:
A historic tree in Glastonbury that was vandalised last year has begun showing signs of new life.
The Glastonbury tree, thought to be dead, has sprouted!A small shoot has made its way and is beginning to grow. Isn't that wonderful? After a long cold Winter, a reason to hope. And so close to Easter.
In the last year or so I have read several news items about vandals cutting down noted and beloved trees. There was an incident near Two Harbors, Minnesota, on the north shore of Lake Superior, where some clown chopped down a tree called "the honking tree" -it marked the entrance to the town, and inhabitants returning home customarily honked as they passed it. There was a similarly infuriating story out west, as well, but my memory has kindly suppressed the details.
ReplyDeleteHow nice, then, to read this report with its glimmer of hope!
(And I would take exception to the idea that you have committed "countless equally awful acts." None of us are perfect, and most of us lose our temper now and then, or act in thoughtless or inconsiderate manner, so I'll take your word that you may have slipped up once or twice. Still, such ordinary human failings are a far cry from the deliberate viciousness of acts like these described!)