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| "Cedar Snow, Lebanon" by Leandra Fallis |
Cedars of Lebanon
Jesse Tree Symbol: Solomon's Temple
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A Greeting
Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat;
sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
(Prayer of Azariah 1:45 )
A Reading
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem.
It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of
Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him,
‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah,
tell us plainly.’ Jesus answered, ‘I have told you, and you do not
believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name testify to me.
(John 10:22-25)
Music
Meditative Verse
The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
(Psalm 104:16)
A Poem
And I came to the place where all the paths of Life meet,
There I fell a wounded prey before the face of despair
And it was there that I heard unseen great wings
moving about me,
And as I turned my eyes I saw Thee
Standing before me as the cedar of God on Lebanon -
I knew thee because the light was in thine eyes,
And the motherly smile on thine lips.
You blessed me with a touch,
and whispered to my soul these words -
" Follow me child, I am thy guide..."
Behind me contentment
Before me joy
Within me Love.
- from The Cedars of Lebanon by Khalil Gibran
Verse for the Day
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
(Psalm 118:24)
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| Jesse Tree image by Eric Westra |
It was the dream of King David to establish an elaborate temple in Jerusalem that would house the Ark of the Covenant. It fell to his son, Solomon, to complete that task. Like his father, Solomon was a writer: the biblical books of Proverbs, Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) and Ecclesiastes are attributed to him. The book known as the Wisdom of Solomon is pseudepigrapha; it was written much later in the 2nd century BCE but as if in the voice of Solomon. Solomon's great strength was his military fortitude and his innovations in trade. The wealth he amassed allowed him to begin work on the great temple, a project that took twenty of the forty years that he reigned. Despite his zeal to house God, Solomon fell away from his faith and began worshiping idols and building altars to them. In the wake of his fall from piety, and soon after his death, the United Kingdom fell apart and Judah and Israel were irrevocably separated. Solomon's story illustrates the underlying tension in the lives of the biblical kings: how to demonstrate the effects of power required of the era while remaining a model of righteousness.
The cedars of Lebanon provided the foundation of many massive construction projects in the ancient world, including Solomon's Temple. These fragrant and woody trees were also known for their healing qualities: the bark was used for ritual cleansing in the recovery from leprosy. It is one of the most prolific trees of the bible, significant for assisting in establishing relationships of trade in communities. Today, the cedars of Lebanon are threatened by climate change (to read more go here) and deforestation.
The festival of Dedication referred to in John 10 is Chanukah. When Jesus was walking in the portico of Solomon, the festival was still relatively new, commemorating events which had occurred less than 200 years before. The question about his identity as messiah, in a place where historically the 'light of the temple' had been extinguished, and then restored, is significant. In John, Jesus becomes the new temple: "‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’"
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| "Here I Am" by McLara |
LC† The Trees of Jesse is a project of
Lutherans Connect / Lutheran Campus Ministry Toronto.
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