ACC ~ John 15 v5a
THE BRANCHES OF THE SINGLE-STEMMED CROSS
ANONYMOUS:
There is a place in the center of the whole world, so we understand,
Golgotha it is named in the Jewish homeland, they say:
Here there is an oak tree hewn from a sterile stump
Planted, I recall, to bear life-giving fruits.
Nevertheless, not for those who had settled there were these fruits
Proffered: strangers from another land were to have this blessed fruit.
This species of tree arose from a single stem,
And then extended outward in a pair of branches:
Like the heavy yardarms on which sails are stretched,
Or like the yoke under which oxen pull the plow
Through the earth which took its first ripe seed as it fell
Conceived: soon after (an amazing thing happened)
On the third day—terrifying to both those on earth and above—
It again spouted a branch, its blessed fruit full of life.
And over twenty days, times two, it became stronger,
It grew immensely, the tops of its branches up to the highest heaven
Reached, and then hid its sacred head on high;
Meanwhile, twelve huge heavy branches
It produced, and spread them out over the entire world:
To all the nations nourishment and eternal life
They were to bring, and to teach them that death itself could die.
And then, after fifty more days had gone by,
From the very top of the tree a draft of divine nectar
Began to flow into the branches, the breeze of the heavenly spirit:
The leaves were saturated everywhere with a sweet dew, and
Behold! under the shadow of the canopy of heavy branches
There was a fountain: here the waters were undisturbed, serene,
Clear and bright, and the surrounding grass
Offered a splendor of color among its variety of flowers.
Innumerable nations and peoples gathered around this spring,
Coming from various races, sexes, ages and ranks,
Unmarried and married together, widows and daughters-in-law,
Infants, young boys, and men—both young and old!
THE TREE OF THE CROSS 1-33.[1]
THE VINE OF NAPHTALI FORESHADOWED CHRIST AND THE CROSS
AMBROSE: [The spreading vine of Naphtali] [1] is a beautiful reference to a shoot clinging to a spiritual vine, of which we are the branch and can bear fruit if we remain on the vine. But otherwise we are cut off. The holy patriarch Naphtali was an abundant shoot. [2] This explains why Jacob had called him a spreading vine. That is, through the grace of faith he was stripped of the bonds of death, and the people of God are foreshadowed in him, called to the liberty of faith and to the fullness of grace and spread over the whole world. It clothes the crossbeam of Christ with good fruit and encompasses the wood of that true vine, that is, the mysteries of the Lord’s cross. It does not fear the danger of acknowledging him, but rather, even amid persecutions, it glories in the name of Christ. ON THE PATRIARCHS 10.42-3. [3]
[1] Gen 49:21 (LXX).
[2] Deut 33:23.
[3] FC 65:265*; CSEL 32 2:148-49.
CHRIST’S BODY THE ROOT
THEODORET OF CYR: Just as the branches are of the same substance as the vine and [come] from it, so we, who have the same kind of body as the Lord’s body, receive from his fullness and have it as a root for resurrection and salvation. And the Father is called the vinedresser, because through the Word he took care of the vine, which is the Lord’s body. DIALOGUE 1.36. [1]
[1] FC 106:75-76.
Jn
[1]PL 2:1113. This poem, De Ligno Vitae, which in total is 69 lines long, is also known as On Easter. It has been variously attributed to Tertullian, Cyprian and Marius Victorinus. It presents us with an allegorical description of a tree representing the cross on which Christ was crucified. The tree that grows up from the stem (the rod of Jesse) and its connecting branches provide life-giving fruit that is meant to benefit not just the local inhabitants, but all who are drawn to its nourishment.