The Mighty Oak

the Mighty Oak

Now mighty can mean big, tall, broad and strong. But, mighty can also mean tenacious. What you see here is a White Oak tree in all its mature splendor, a mighty Oak.

I contrast these two meanings of mighty because I’m excited to announce that the reports of the death of my baby oak tree, started from an acorn, have been premature. The tree was viciously attacked last spring by a savage chipmunk, squirrel, rabbit or some such other wild beast. All of the tender shoots and leaves were eaten in this attempted arborcide (I just made that word up). In the throes of grief I refused to remove it from the ground, hoping against hope that it would miraculously recover from this devastating blow.

This spring the little shaver was not showing any signs of life. I became resolved to finally remove it. A little warm weather lured me to the back yard again. I was resolved to remove the beautiful ornate fence I had place around my tree (which had very large openings that allowed the savage attack to begin with). But, my heart leapt (or leaped, maybe both) for joy when to my great and grateful surprise tender shoots were once again springing to life.

Here you can see this tenacious little life springing from the ground. The mighty Oakus lives on!

C. S. Lewis and the Real Presence

Leanne Payne was founder of Pastoral Care Ministries. She was a noted scholar of the writings of C. S. Lewis and participated in cataloging the letters of C. S. Lewis for the Wade Collection at Wheaton College. The following is from her book "Real Presence: The Christian Worldview of C.S. Lewis as Incarnational Reality"

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The Scriptures teach that Christ listened to the father; trusting the Holy Spirit, (Jn 14:16-17, Lk: 4:1, 4:14, 5:17, Acts 1:1-2) He taught and healed through the power of the Spirit. The apostles learned this from Him. This capacity to collaborate with the Holy Spirit is also given to us. Herein we see the artist and the Christian brought together. The artist to free the work, must get self out of the way; he must die to self. So it is with the Christian. To do the works that Christ commanded, he must first get self out of the way; he must die to the "old man." And, just as the Spirit gave form and beauty back to the earth which "was without form, and void" when "darkness was upon the face of the deep," so the Christian, listening to God and collaborating with the Holy Spirit, frees the souls of men. Chaotic, fallen, like the earth after the angelic fall, without form and void, the soul cries out to be delivered from chaos, to be given back its form and beauty. The Christian, proclaiming liberty to the soul held captive, calls forth the real person; he frees the prisoner as Michelangelo freed the “Moses”. The true artist and the true Christian collaborate with the spirit: "The spirit comes into us and does it.

This is Lewis’s mysticism.