Fallen

All it takes is one – one individual bent on destruction, for whatever reason.  I’ve looked at the sycamore tree (Robin Hood tree) in England as just one example of God’s creation destroyed by forces seeking to up-end that creation.  

There has been an outpouring of sadness and anger at this tree’s vandalism.  It was cut down.  It has great meaning and symbolism for many people and is one of the draws of the 84-mile walk along the Hadrian’s Wall Path from the North Sea to the Irish Sea just south of Scotland.  

I walked that path with one of my sons, my daughter-in-law, and 12-year-old grandson a year ago August 2022.  The tree in the “Sycamore Gap” was a milestone along the way.  It was a solitary tree about 300 years old.

According to experts, the tree is still alive and will take decades and centuries to recover but never having the same shape and majesty.  That is a crying shame!  Of course, I won’t be around to witness any recovery – only future generations, perhaps. 

My outrage is understandable, but let’s put this tree’s felling into perspective.  Thousands of trees have been cut in England and certainly in the United States to make way for “progress.”  Moreover, extensive forest fires in our nation, especially on the west coast, have destroyed vast numbers of trees.  Climate change has been one cause.  The giant Sequoia trees have not escaped.  Swarths of Sequoias are worth a lot more than one sycamore. Again, perspective is important.

If nothing else, the felling of the Robin Hood tree reminds us that trees must be protected from wholesale destruction.  That protection is missing in many areas such as in the Amazon rain forest.  

Our Church understands the importance of protecting our environment – God’s creation.  Each of us should have the same opinion, else the environment that supports us will fall.  Our Earth is Humpty Dumpty.  All the King's horses and all the King's men..."  We all know the rhyme.

Deacon David Pierce