Daily Lesson for April 27, 2017

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 3 verse 9:

"Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire."

Earlier this week I received an email in my inbox from one of our local arborists telling me all about the subterranean world that exists just outside my backdoor and the deeply connected but hidden ecosystem that links tree to tree beneath the visible topsoil of my yard:

"Under the surface of soil is an interconnected web of roots and fungi. In particular, mycorrhizal fungi are incredibly beneficial to trees. These fungi colonize the root systems of a host plant, and provide increased water and nutrient absorption, as well as increased protection against certain pathogens. In return, the host plants provide the fungi with the energy to continue this cycle."

The email went on to say that not only do the root systems of same-species trees connect beneath the ground, but so too do different species trees connect and form a kind of neighborhood of life together.  The scientific word for this is ecosystem; but a more common name for it is community.

We all live in community, ecosystems of communal life shared in ways that aren't always apparent but are nevertheless vital for our own livelihood and that of our neighbors. Just as disease or drought or infestation in one place threatens the whole ecosystem of trees, even across species, so also does sickness in one part of our neighborhood threaten the wellness of our whole communal life together. 

When John the Baptist talked about the "ax lying at the root of the trees" he recognized the subterranean affects of one sick tree on the whole neighborhood of trees.  He drew upon the image as a metaphor for the all-corrupting power sin has to destroy a whole community.

Original sins like sexism and racism and the degradation of creation are mostly hidden from our eyes. But beneath the surface they threaten our whole community. They have to be taken out down to their very root lest they destroy our whole life together.