Two Trees - Good Friday Homily - April 18, 2025

 

Homily for Good Friday

April 18, 2025

Wood So Dear

 

            In the beginning, there was a tree. This tree produced a powerful fruit, so powerful that it would make man like the gods. In disobedience, man stretched his hand out to this tree – and unleashed a power he was unable to control, that brought untold chaos and suffering down through the ages.

            But in that garden, there was a second tree. This was the Tree of Life, a tree which would make man immortal if he ate of its fruit. When the Fall happened, this Tree was sealed off, lest man be condemned for eternity in his fallen state, full of suffering and tears.

            But the Tree of Life was unsealed today – now, upon this New Tree, do we see a fruit that, if eaten, will make man immortal. The beautiful, broken Body of Christ, the fruit of this Blessed Tree, must be consumed in the Holy Eucharist, bringing with it both forgiveness and immortality. Now we stretch out our hands to another Tree, not in disobedience but in obedience, eating His Flesh because He told us, “Do this in memory of Me.”

            Consider the shape of this Tree. It has one upright branch, connecting Heaven and earth – for now our reconciliation is complete, and in Christ, God and man are reconciled. God has become man and died, so that man may truly become divine, through grace, and live. While the first man tried to become god by his own efforts and Original Sin entered the world, man can now become Godlike through God’s initiative. And the Cross is the trunk of this holy Tree, leading mankind to God and God back to man.

            But this Holy Tree also has a horizontal branch, embracing all of mankind – and showing us that the path to Heaven is marked by love of neighbor. From the vantage point of the Cross, Christ could see all of the human race – and He orders us to love all, without exception, if we wish to draw near to Heaven.

            It is notable that this Cross stretches out in four infinite directions like a compass, showing the universality of Christ’s love. North, south, east, and west are all embraced by Him.

            This Tree is planted in the ground on a hill called Calvary – Golgotha, in Aramaic, which translates to “The Place of the Skull”. The early Church fathers such as Origen and St. Jerome, echoing a more ancient Jewish tradition, hold that the Skull of Adam, the first man, was buried in that very location. In fact, if you were to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which is built over Calvary, one of the crypt chapels claims to be the burial place of Adam. And you will notice a crack in the rock in the back of the chapel, stained red. When Christ died, an earthquake tore the rock in two – allowing His Precious Blood to flow down upon the skull of the first man. That skull was a visible reminder of the tyranny of death – but now all of us, who labor under the shadow of death, have hope for life everlasting in the Blood that was shed for us.

            Behold the Tree of Life. Do not look upon a dead Man, but look upon a Love stronger than death. Look upon our hope, our victory. Stretch out your heart to the Tree, and find eternal life!