Yesterday, despite the fact that there was an impending storm and being dog tired, I summoned just enough will power to get down to Mass.
True enough, it rained minutes into the Mass. Happily though, I missed the raindrops as I was snugly seated in the pews 20 minutes before Mass. I think I have averted a "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" moment... But to be fair, I was also completing my 8th week in attendance of Novena to Our Blessed Mother. So, a 9 week cycle would be completed next weekend, God willing...
Anyway, Mass was celebrated by Msgr Daniel of Holy Rosary Church. That reminds me that I haven't written an entry about Holy Rosary Church... Well, I'm going to do that within the week, scouts promise (despite the fact that I was never a scout in my school days.. :p) ...
What I like about Msgr Daniel is that he speaks in a very peculiar (in a good way) style. If I were to close my eyes and hear him speak, I can imagine a fatherly figure dispensing sound advice with boundless love in it.
Anyways, he told a story about a fruit tree which was planted in the forest. The essence of his story was that the tree lost sight of its' reasons of existence, that is to bear fruit. It instead focused in the wrong things, such as being the biggest and strongest in order to receive praises and acclaim.
When Msgr Daniel spoke of this story, it made my mind wander back in time, albeit just for a moment. I then made a mental note to revisit that memory that was jolted by the homily to reflect in a more suitable time and place.
And I did reflect on that long embedded memory. I remembered reading about it in a local state daily in a pullout which was meant to encourage better command of English. It also made me rue wistfully for a while that such a story would probably have been shot down even before it even made the printing press had it been forwarded for consideration in our national dailies. Perhaps as a nation, we have a whole lot more to learn about racial and religious acceptance. Then again, that's a topic for another day...
Without further ado, I give you the story of the three trees in the forest... (I hope I remembered correctly...)
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there were three huge trees growing next to each other in the forest.
<----
This was taken at the base of the tree. For those curious on my real identity, I'm in the crowd... Hahaha... Good luck in finding me out...
---->
Now back to the story..
Now being a mixture of inspirational and fictitious story, the trees were able to communicate with each other. Despite the fact that they were in a way, rivals to be the greatest tree in the forest, they treated each other with mutual respect (what we need in abundance in society today). So, they shared their hopes and dreams.
The first tree shared its' secret wish. The tree aimed to grow strong and tall. It dreamed of being made into a throne whereupon the greatest of kings would rest.
The second tree then shared its' dream for the future. It wanted to grow strong and tall as the first tree. And in addition to that, it wanted to grow straight as well. This was because it wanted to be used to build the biggest and strongest ship ever. One that would ferry a great explorer across the wide expanse of the oceans in search of a place in history which would come with the discovery of new worlds.
It was then the third tree's turn to share. It said that it wanted to grow tall, strong and straight. However it said that it didn't want to be chopped down and turned into anything. Instead, it wanted to be the tallest and biggest tree in the world so everyone would be awed merely by the sight of it.
So, the trees agreed that they should pray to God everyday to ask that He grants them their dearest wishes and dreams.
Years came and passed as the trees continued to pray fervently to God. One fine day, a man came and inspected all the trees in the forest. He then marked the tree biggest trees. Apparently, he was a what we would call a lumberjack. His duty was to choose the best of mature trees to be felled which would later be sold to craftsmen in town.
The first tree was cut and the lumberjack sold the trunk to a furniture maker. The tree was excited and continued to pray that it would be turned into a magnificent throne for the greatest of kings. Alas, that was not to be. The carpenter found that the wood was not durable and as such was worthless. As such, he used it to make several small troughs to be sold to owners of mangers to feed their stock.
The second tree which the lumberjack cut was then sold to the local ship builder. The tree was confident that God had heard its' prayers and was eagerly waiting for the ship builder to start work on it. Woe befell the tree when the ship builder assessed that the trunk was of low quality and as such was unsuitable for sea voyages. So as not to waste the wood, he built a small fishing boat out of it and sold to the local fisherman.
The third tree was horrified when the lumberjack decided to fell it. So depressed was the tree that the trunk rotted. When the lumberjack discovered the rot, he decided to cut the trunk into a few pieces and left it in the corner of the lumber yard where it lay under the sun and rain, forgotten and its' dreams dead and buried...
Years and years of toil and prayers, it seemed that God had forsaken them. Did He? Perhaps the story is not over yet... :p
The first tree, now a trough was sold and now resides in a manger along a dusty road. The owner of the manger owned an inn where travelers regularly stopped to eat and rest for the night. The trough was used to place hay for the consumption of the owner's cattle and the visitor's donkeys (a key form of transportation in the era). It was depressing for the tree to live a life of anonymous existence when it had such big dreams before.
Then one evening, a man and a heavily pregnant lady walked into the manger. It was obvious that the lady was in a lot of pain. The man helped the lady to a corner of the manger and assisted her as she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
The man took the trough and placed some hay inside as he then placed the new born child, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes in it as it slept in peace. Then came three men who looked foreign and spoke with indistinguishable tongues. They offered gifts of precious gold, myrrh and frankincense and paid homage to the new born baby.
If we were to imagine the scene that had unfolded in that dirty, damp and desolate manger, it would probably look like this;
The second tree who was made into a fishing boat, is rowed to the center of the lake daily to cast its' nets. It was a hard and unforgiving thing to do as it was constantly leaking, dirty and smelly. One day as it was sailing, a storm came and the waves and winds battered the boat. The boat was taking in water rapidly and was in imminent danger of sinking.
Suddenly, a passenger in the boat, a young man stood up and raised both his arms to the skies. He cried out in a rebuke saying, "In my Father's name, I command you to stop!" And the storms ceased, the winds stopped and waters calmed. Everyone who was in the boat was amazed with what they had just witnessed.
What happened to the third tree? Did the world pass it by as it lay forgotten?
One day there was a commotion in the town square. People were chanting and shouting and there was general disorder. A few man in helmets, carrying spears and shields came into the lumber yard and chanced upon the third tree, now left to rot in pieces in the yard. The men choose several pieces of the tree and took it with them.
The men fashioned a crude cross out of the tree and then placed it on the shoulder of a man who was wearing a crown made of twisted torn stems. And that man, which the crowd condemned as a criminal was made to carry that cross up a hill despite being weak from what looked like a body that has been flayed.
When the alleged criminal reached the top of the hill, he was nailed to the cross before the cross was hoisted for all to see. After suffering from the pain of crucifixion for several hours, the man shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachtani?"
Moments later he breathed his last as the skies darkened. One of the men, who was a Roman legionary who took the wood pieces from the yard earlier, used his spear to pierce the crucified man to ensure that he was truly dead. Out gushed water and blood and the legionary took off his helmet and said, "Truly He was the Son of God".
And the masses who were gathered at the hill witnessed one of the most important events in the history of mankind. It wasn't a sight for the faint hearted but the sacrifice of one life was necessary for the salvation of mankind for all the ages...
As the story draws to a close, perhaps it would be good to revisit the dreams that the trees had at the start of the story.
The first tree dreamed of being the throne where great kings would rest upon and rule lands with power and might. It instead was turned into a trough which was used to hold feed for livestock for many a years before it became the crib which held the one that would go on to be known as the King of Kings.
The second tree meanwhile dreamed of sailing the oceans with an explorer on board in search of glory, power and fame. Instead, it was made into a fishing boat that stank and was dirty all the time. However, it's place in history is assured as it bore witness to one of the most famous miracle a man called Jesus had performed.
The third tree dreamt of adulation and admiration from mortals by virtue of being the biggest and tallest tree in the jungle. Instead it was cut into pieces and left to rot in the lumber yard before it was used as an instrument of death for one accused common criminal.
The "common criminal" turned out to be the Son of God who was sent to redeem the whole world from the clutches of sin. And the instrument of death is now an instrument that represents hope, faith, salvation and more importantly, love. It is an instrument that will stand the test of time and would be present for generations to come.
So, the dreams didn't turn out the way the trees wanted, did it? I believe that this story would be a balm that I need to soothe my fears, pains and disappointments when things don't go the way that I wish it would. I'm grateful that I'm reminded of this story when Msgr Daniel told the congregation his story yesterday.
I think that every time a storm threatens to cause a havoc , there's a rainbow waiting at the end of it... Life's a lot like that don't you think? Maybe God does know what's best for us.
True enough, it rained minutes into the Mass. Happily though, I missed the raindrops as I was snugly seated in the pews 20 minutes before Mass. I think I have averted a "spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" moment... But to be fair, I was also completing my 8th week in attendance of Novena to Our Blessed Mother. So, a 9 week cycle would be completed next weekend, God willing...
Anyway, Mass was celebrated by Msgr Daniel of Holy Rosary Church. That reminds me that I haven't written an entry about Holy Rosary Church... Well, I'm going to do that within the week, scouts promise (despite the fact that I was never a scout in my school days.. :p) ...
What I like about Msgr Daniel is that he speaks in a very peculiar (in a good way) style. If I were to close my eyes and hear him speak, I can imagine a fatherly figure dispensing sound advice with boundless love in it.
Anyways, he told a story about a fruit tree which was planted in the forest. The essence of his story was that the tree lost sight of its' reasons of existence, that is to bear fruit. It instead focused in the wrong things, such as being the biggest and strongest in order to receive praises and acclaim.
When Msgr Daniel spoke of this story, it made my mind wander back in time, albeit just for a moment. I then made a mental note to revisit that memory that was jolted by the homily to reflect in a more suitable time and place.
And I did reflect on that long embedded memory. I remembered reading about it in a local state daily in a pullout which was meant to encourage better command of English. It also made me rue wistfully for a while that such a story would probably have been shot down even before it even made the printing press had it been forwarded for consideration in our national dailies. Perhaps as a nation, we have a whole lot more to learn about racial and religious acceptance. Then again, that's a topic for another day...
Without further ado, I give you the story of the three trees in the forest... (I hope I remembered correctly...)
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there were three huge trees growing next to each other in the forest.
<---- Perhaps it looked like the trees on the left hand photo which was taken a few years ago at team building session at Awana Genting Resort.
This was taken at the base of the tree. For those curious on my real identity, I'm in the crowd... Hahaha... Good luck in finding me out...---->
Now back to the story..
Now being a mixture of inspirational and fictitious story, the trees were able to communicate with each other. Despite the fact that they were in a way, rivals to be the greatest tree in the forest, they treated each other with mutual respect (what we need in abundance in society today). So, they shared their hopes and dreams.
The first tree shared its' secret wish. The tree aimed to grow strong and tall. It dreamed of being made into a throne whereupon the greatest of kings would rest.
The second tree then shared its' dream for the future. It wanted to grow strong and tall as the first tree. And in addition to that, it wanted to grow straight as well. This was because it wanted to be used to build the biggest and strongest ship ever. One that would ferry a great explorer across the wide expanse of the oceans in search of a place in history which would come with the discovery of new worlds.
It was then the third tree's turn to share. It said that it wanted to grow tall, strong and straight. However it said that it didn't want to be chopped down and turned into anything. Instead, it wanted to be the tallest and biggest tree in the world so everyone would be awed merely by the sight of it.
So, the trees agreed that they should pray to God everyday to ask that He grants them their dearest wishes and dreams.
Years came and passed as the trees continued to pray fervently to God. One fine day, a man came and inspected all the trees in the forest. He then marked the tree biggest trees. Apparently, he was a what we would call a lumberjack. His duty was to choose the best of mature trees to be felled which would later be sold to craftsmen in town.
The first tree was cut and the lumberjack sold the trunk to a furniture maker. The tree was excited and continued to pray that it would be turned into a magnificent throne for the greatest of kings. Alas, that was not to be. The carpenter found that the wood was not durable and as such was worthless. As such, he used it to make several small troughs to be sold to owners of mangers to feed their stock.
The second tree which the lumberjack cut was then sold to the local ship builder. The tree was confident that God had heard its' prayers and was eagerly waiting for the ship builder to start work on it. Woe befell the tree when the ship builder assessed that the trunk was of low quality and as such was unsuitable for sea voyages. So as not to waste the wood, he built a small fishing boat out of it and sold to the local fisherman.
The third tree was horrified when the lumberjack decided to fell it. So depressed was the tree that the trunk rotted. When the lumberjack discovered the rot, he decided to cut the trunk into a few pieces and left it in the corner of the lumber yard where it lay under the sun and rain, forgotten and its' dreams dead and buried...Years and years of toil and prayers, it seemed that God had forsaken them. Did He? Perhaps the story is not over yet... :p
The first tree, now a trough was sold and now resides in a manger along a dusty road. The owner of the manger owned an inn where travelers regularly stopped to eat and rest for the night. The trough was used to place hay for the consumption of the owner's cattle and the visitor's donkeys (a key form of transportation in the era). It was depressing for the tree to live a life of anonymous existence when it had such big dreams before.
Then one evening, a man and a heavily pregnant lady walked into the manger. It was obvious that the lady was in a lot of pain. The man helped the lady to a corner of the manger and assisted her as she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
The man took the trough and placed some hay inside as he then placed the new born child, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes in it as it slept in peace. Then came three men who looked foreign and spoke with indistinguishable tongues. They offered gifts of precious gold, myrrh and frankincense and paid homage to the new born baby.
If we were to imagine the scene that had unfolded in that dirty, damp and desolate manger, it would probably look like this;
The second tree who was made into a fishing boat, is rowed to the center of the lake daily to cast its' nets. It was a hard and unforgiving thing to do as it was constantly leaking, dirty and smelly. One day as it was sailing, a storm came and the waves and winds battered the boat. The boat was taking in water rapidly and was in imminent danger of sinking.
Suddenly, a passenger in the boat, a young man stood up and raised both his arms to the skies. He cried out in a rebuke saying, "In my Father's name, I command you to stop!" And the storms ceased, the winds stopped and waters calmed. Everyone who was in the boat was amazed with what they had just witnessed.
What happened to the third tree? Did the world pass it by as it lay forgotten?
One day there was a commotion in the town square. People were chanting and shouting and there was general disorder. A few man in helmets, carrying spears and shields came into the lumber yard and chanced upon the third tree, now left to rot in pieces in the yard. The men choose several pieces of the tree and took it with them.
The men fashioned a crude cross out of the tree and then placed it on the shoulder of a man who was wearing a crown made of twisted torn stems. And that man, which the crowd condemned as a criminal was made to carry that cross up a hill despite being weak from what looked like a body that has been flayed.
When the alleged criminal reached the top of the hill, he was nailed to the cross before the cross was hoisted for all to see. After suffering from the pain of crucifixion for several hours, the man shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachtani?"
Moments later he breathed his last as the skies darkened. One of the men, who was a Roman legionary who took the wood pieces from the yard earlier, used his spear to pierce the crucified man to ensure that he was truly dead. Out gushed water and blood and the legionary took off his helmet and said, "Truly He was the Son of God".
And the masses who were gathered at the hill witnessed one of the most important events in the history of mankind. It wasn't a sight for the faint hearted but the sacrifice of one life was necessary for the salvation of mankind for all the ages...
As the story draws to a close, perhaps it would be good to revisit the dreams that the trees had at the start of the story.
The first tree dreamed of being the throne where great kings would rest upon and rule lands with power and might. It instead was turned into a trough which was used to hold feed for livestock for many a years before it became the crib which held the one that would go on to be known as the King of Kings.
The second tree meanwhile dreamed of sailing the oceans with an explorer on board in search of glory, power and fame. Instead, it was made into a fishing boat that stank and was dirty all the time. However, it's place in history is assured as it bore witness to one of the most famous miracle a man called Jesus had performed.
The third tree dreamt of adulation and admiration from mortals by virtue of being the biggest and tallest tree in the jungle. Instead it was cut into pieces and left to rot in the lumber yard before it was used as an instrument of death for one accused common criminal.
The "common criminal" turned out to be the Son of God who was sent to redeem the whole world from the clutches of sin. And the instrument of death is now an instrument that represents hope, faith, salvation and more importantly, love. It is an instrument that will stand the test of time and would be present for generations to come.
So, the dreams didn't turn out the way the trees wanted, did it? I believe that this story would be a balm that I need to soothe my fears, pains and disappointments when things don't go the way that I wish it would. I'm grateful that I'm reminded of this story when Msgr Daniel told the congregation his story yesterday.
I think that every time a storm threatens to cause a havoc , there's a rainbow waiting at the end of it... Life's a lot like that don't you think? Maybe God does know what's best for us.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
Excerpt from the Lord's prayer
No comments:
Post a Comment