Jesus Christ the Apple Tree
One of my favorite songs, appropriate for Christmas or any time of year, is Elizabeth Poston’s arrangement of William Northup’s hymn Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. The melody is simple but lovely and haunting, and there is a beautiful way that the phrases build and release. It would serve as quite a good meditation for any of us. Especially in this crazy season of gift-buying, cookie-baking, and family-visiting, we have to keep our spiritual centers.
The following is the message I hear in this song:
Only with the soul can one find the tree of life. With our worldly senses, we are distracted by worldly things. The tree of life is a constant source of the spiritual food upon which we can all truly thrive. Even the most fruitful natural tree is no comparison with Jesus Christ the apple tree.
Though with our eyes we cannot literally see Christ, His glory is ever-present and mystifyingly tangible. The beauty of the tree of life is astounding.
We spend all our lives seeking happiness; we spend all our time and money on imperfect solutions to our woes. True joy is found in Christ the apple tree.
After all our energy has been used to serve ourselves, we may find ourselves catching our breath by seeking Christ. We discover a peace with Him that we forgot or that we never realized, and we can rest in His embrace.
The fruit of the tree of life feeds the soul and revitalizes it. Christ strengthens us, and our spiritual selves want nothing more than to be with Him.
An additional note on this song is that it is written in such a way that it never truly feels as though it has ended… much like our journeys of faith. My prayer for all of us is that the branches of the tree of life reach to every corner of our hearts and every aspect of our lives during this blessed holiday season and always.
This web address is for a performance of the song done by the Choir of St. John’s College of Cambridge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPJBFYuUWvY
Natalie Wray
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