Sermon for Pentecost 23: "If Trees Could Talk"

 + 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost – November 16^th, 2025 +

Series C: Malachi 4; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-13; Luke 21:5-28

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

 

If the walls could talk! Imagine the stories they could tell. We often say this somewhat jokingly or sentimentally, when we look around a beloved home or an historical site.

 

But have you ever found yourself saying something similar walking through the woods or standing among trees? If only these trees could talk. Imagine the stories they would tell.

 

Some writers have brought this idea to life. In The Lord of the Rings there are the Ents, talking tree-like creatures. In Narnia the trees talk as well, and they come alive when Aslan the lion appears. The Womping Willow in Harry Potter has a rather gnarly, knotty attitude. Even foresters in Germany have discovered that trees communicate with one another through underground networks of mycelium. 

 

So if the trees in literature and nature have a story to tell, what about the trees in the Scriptures? Do they have a story to tell as well? 

 

Jesus sure thought so. He even told a parable pointing his disciples to the trees. Jesus teaches us a little theology by dendrology. Christ the Arborist takes us into the woods he called into existence so that the forest becomes our classroom and the trees are our catechist. 

 

 “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

 

This is one of Jesus’ favorite teaching methods. He uses simple things, his creatures and his creation, to teach us something profound. Birds and lilies teach us not to be anxious or worry. Children teach us that we’re utterly dependent upon his grace. Trees and their leaves in spring and summer teach us that when we see signs of living in the End Times – and we do every day – that this is good news. An endless summer is on the horizon. The New Creation is about to dawn. The Kingdom of God is near. At the very gates. Just waiting to sprout forth with the resurrection of the dead. 

 

So, if the trees of Scripture could talk, what stories would they tell?

 

From the trees of Eden, especially the tree of knowledge of good and evil, we hear the tragedy of how sin and sorrow, darkness, decay, and death first entered the world. How sin and death spread like dry rot, first in Adam and Eve and then in each of us. 

 

But the trees of Genesis also tell another story. The true story of a promise. A Son. A Savior. A Seed. In the fullness of time he would be born of woman and born under the law to redeem, rescue, and restore us by dying on a cursed tree.

 

From the trees of the forest in Psalm 96, we hear a word of wonder echoing in the woodlands. God’s Creation groaning under the weight of sin and death also rejoices with gladness when Christ, the Creator comes down to his creation. And we along with the trees creek and groan awaiting Christ’s return. When the Scriptures foretell the promise of the Lord’s coming, all creation, even the canopy of trees, cannot help but sing God’s praises. 

 

“Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.

 

From Genesis to Revelation, from the gopher wood of the ark, to the acacia wood of the tabernacle, from the cedars of the temple, to the sycamore tree where Zacchaeus climbed, from Isaiah’s promise of a righteous branch to the wood of the cross, the trees indeed have a story to tell: 

Between every two pine trees is a doorway leading to a new way of life, said John Muir. Jesus does one better. In between the trees of the Bible is a doorway that leads to new life in the tree of his cross. 

 

Yes, there is much that the flora and fauna of Christ’s creation can teach the faithful.

 

Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.

 

We might expect Jesus to use the image of autumn when he teaches about his second coming and living in the last days. Falling leaves. Death. Decay. Growing darkness. Winter is coming. But no. Jesus uses images of spring and summer. Trees is full leaf. Stretching out their limbs with new life. Bursting with vitality. Hope. Promise. It’s an echo of Eden. And it’s a glimpse of the new creation yet to come.

 

Yes, living in the last days comes with a great deal of tribulation, trials, sorrow, and suffering. And yes, Jesus warns us who live in these last days to keep awake, alert, attuned to his words. To find our delight in the word of God. To be trees planted by streams of water. To be pruned and grafted into his absolution and forgiveness, daily dying and rising in repentance and forgiveness. And bearing the fruits of repentance. To be fed and nourished, healed and forgiven in his body and blood that come to us from the grape of the vine and the wheat of the fields that he plants and provides for our pardon.

 

Yes, there is warning. There are many great and terrible things we face in this life. And yet, our Lord’s promises are greater. No matter how thick with thorns and thistles and weeds this life seems to be. No matter how much you are surrounded and overwhelmed by sin, sorrow, and suffering, by despair, decay, and death, know this: the kingdom of God is near. And Jesus who was crucified on the tree of the cross and rose again from the dead as the first fruits of the resurrection is greater than every trial, tribulation, and temptation you and I come across. 

 

Of all the trees of Scripture, the one that stands upon Calvary’s hill stands tallest of all. 

 

One day, and we pray it is soon, all of these signs of the end times, all of these worries, fears, and tribulations…all of these doubts, all that decays and even sin and death itself will pass away. But there’s one thing that will not. 

 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. The grass withers. The flower fails. But the word of our Lord endures forever. And in Jesus, so will you. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.