Daily Nourishment for December 29, 2024: Jesus Christ the Apple Tree with Guidance from Lauren Winner
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 90 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
Merry Christmas. The past five invitations have each responded to a Christmas carol or hymn. Today’s final invitation focuses on “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.” - Lauren
Prompt.
The hymn, whose writer is unknown, picks up on a centuries’ old reading of this passage from the second chapter of Song of Songs:
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
and let his banner over me be love.
Strengthen me with raisins,
refresh me with apples,
for I am faint with love.
The church has long construed the apple tree mentioned in that passage as Jesus (and has long construed the speaker of the words about the apple tree as you or me, or as the church). The reading is doubly poetic - the beloved, who is poetically understood by the church as Jesus, is poetically understood by the speaker of the Song as an apple tree, sweet and delightful among the trees of the forest.
What are your associations with apples? Think not of the mealy, average apple you might eat in July. Try instead to summon the first delicious juicy tart sweet apple you ate last fall. Who might Jesus be if Jesus is an apple tree?
Do you have a childhood memory of an apple tree? If so, what do you discover — about Jesus, or about the memory — when you receive that memory as disclosing something about who Jesus is?
Practice.
Here are the song’s words:
The tree of life my soul hath seen, Laden with fruit and always green; The trees of nature fruitless be, Compared with Christ the Apple Tree.
His beauty doth all things excel, By faith I know but ne'er can tell The glory which I now can see, In Jesus Christ the Appletree.
For happiness I long have sought, And pleasure dearly I have bought; I missed of all but now I see 'Tis found in Christ the Appletree.
I'm weary with my former toil - Here I will sit and rest awhile, Under the shadow I will be, Of Jesus Christ the Appletree.
With great delight I’ll make my stay, There’s none shall fright my soul away; Among the sons of men I see There’s none like Christ the Appletree.
I’ll sit and eat this fruit divine, It cheers my heart like spirit’al wine; And now this fruit is sweet to me, That grows on Christ the Appletree.
This fruit doth make my soul to thrive, It keeps my dying faith alive; Which makes my soul in haste to be With Jesus Christ the Appletree.
Is there a stanza in which you especially find yourself? (I always seem to find myself in stanzas three and four.) Write for seven minutes in response.
Want More?
Elizabeth Poston wrote the setting of the song with which this post opens. But there are other wonderful settings. Here’s Andrew Carter’s setting. And here is Stanford Scriven’s.
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Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Lauren Winner. Lauren Winner is a writer, professor, Episcopal Priest, & spiritual director.
Read Lauren’s full bio here.
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