Friday,
November 29, 2013
1st Reading: Dm 7:2-14
Gospel: Lk 21:29-33
Jesus said to his disciples, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as their buds sprout, you know that summer is already near. In the same way, as soon as you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all this has happened: heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
Jesus directed the attention of his listeners not just to a fig tree but to all trees, making these listeners aware that trees can be used not only as indicators of the coming of the seasons but also of the cosmic end which precedes the coming of God’s kingdom. Sad to say, trees today are no longer reliable indicators of the end of times because their changes are no longer in step with nature due to the maltreatment they suffer in the hands of humans.
There is a Spanish saying attributed to Cuban poet Jose Marti that recommends planting trees, siring a child and writing a book to those who would like to live a complete life (un arbol, un hijo, un libro). I have done the first many times, attempted to do the third but gave up the second when I entered the seminary at the age of 15.
Many friends have asked me to compile my gospel columns and come up with a book. I said I will plant enough trees first. What a convenient excuse to evade the time consuming task! But it is true that a ton of paper is equivalent to 17 trees. Would that there be a system of certifying authors as green authors by requiring them to plant trees before coming up with another book!
In siring a child parents can also go green. Parishes, for example, can require parents to plant trees before their child is scheduled for baptism. Parents can also mark every birthday of their child with a tree planting activity. I commend the owners of a resort in Badian, Cebu for gifting honeymooners with a seedling and accommodating their seedling in the resort garden. Their names are etched on small slabs marking the seedling they plant so that in their next visit they can identify which among the trees in the resort garden is the one they had planted during their honeymoon.
The word ‘tree’ appears 50 times in its singular form while 11 times in its plural form in the New Testament. When Jesus invited people to observe changes in trees in order to anticipate the end of times and the coming of God’s kingdom, he was using trees as medium to drive home an important message. With the sad state of our trees today, the medium has become the message. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email:[email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT /age/address> at i-send sa 4467.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.