Dec. 6: Jesus Christ: The Apple Tree

Virgin and Child Under an Apple Tree, Lucas Cranach, the Elder. Oil on canvas, 1525–30. 87 x 59 cm. The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia. Public domain.

“Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” from the album Christmastide by Bob Bennett.

Poetry:

from “The Hound of Heaven”
by Francis Thompson

Now of that long pursuit
Comes on at hand the bruit;
That Voice is round me like a bursting sea:
‘And is thy earth so marred,
Shattered in shard on shard?
Lo, all things fly thee, for thou fliest Me!
Strange, piteous, futile thing!
Wherefore should any set thee love apart?
Seeing none but I makes much of naught’ (He said),

‘And human love needs human meriting:
How hast thou merited—
Of all man’s clotted clay the dingiest clot?
Alack, thou knowest not
How little worthy of any love thou art!
Whom wilt thou find to love ignoble thee,
Save Me, save only Me?
All which I took from thee I did but take,
Not for thy harms,
But just that thou might’st seek it in My arms.
All which thy child’s mistake
Fancies as lost, I have stored for thee at home:
Rise, clasp My hand, and come!’

Halts by me that footfall:
Is my gloom, after all,
Shade of His hand, outstretched caressingly?

‘Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest,
I am He Whom thou seekest!
Thou dravest love from thee, who dravest Me.’

WAITING FOR THE BRIDEGROOM’S GIFT OF LOVE

Advent is above all a time of waiting, like a bride awaiting her bridegroom. It should really be a time of breathless anticipation, as we yearn for the great joy of Christmas. Song of Songs 2:3 contains a passionate declaration of desire: “Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down in his shade with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” This verse has been read, allegorically, in reference to the Church receiving protection and nurture from Christ, the apple tree. The metaphorical image of God as a tree providing shade and protection from the sun also occurs in the Psalms, but, here, in the Song of Songs, the tree provides delight, as well as shade. Those who have bit into freshly picked apples in autumn can understand the evocation of a refreshing and sweet taste. In the Songs of Songs, the act of sitting underneath an apple tree and enjoying its fruit provides a vivid image of intimate union with a beloved. And in the hymn “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree,” as in traditional patristic and medieval commentary on the Song of Songs, this beloved is Christ Himself.

How is Christ pursuing you, as a Bridegroom pursues his Bride, with desire and love this Advent? Where do you see His hand at work in your life, sheltering you from the fray, and reminding you of the promise of the delectable spiritual fruits to be enjoyed over the twelve days of Christmas? In “The Hound of Heaven” the Roman Catholic Victorian poet Francis Thompson recalls God’s pursuit, His persistent hounding, as Thompson fled from divine love, only to be eventually captured. Thompson also alludes to a Bridegroom’s protective, enfolding desire for his Bride when his poem’s speaker takes on the voice of God, encouraging us, as readers, to “seek” true love “in My arms.” Thompson implies God wants us to drop false preoccupations and distorted goals, which distract us from divine love, so we can receive what God has “stored” for us “at home” with Him. At Advent, the Lord reaches out to us, beckoning us with His love, declaring, “Rise, clasp My hand, and come!”

Prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
(St. Hildegard of Bingen)

Dr. Natasha Duquette
Academic Dean
Professor of Literature
Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College
Barry’s Bay, Ontario, Canada

For more information about the artwork, music, and poetry selected for this day, please visit our website via the link in our bio.