Fr Robert Hendrickson

Dear Friends in Christ,

Two years ago, we planted a number of olive trees in our yard. The ones we already had have done quite well here so they seemed a good choice as we were looking to put more trees in (we could only have so many mesquite as our popped ball bill is a constantly growing expense).

Anyhow, each time I water them or tend to them, I think back to the groves of olive trees of the Holy Land. Whether it’s in the Garden of Gethsemene or Shepherds’ Field or Bethany there are olive trees everywhere.

The ones I think of most are those in Bethlehem near Shepherds’ Field. Ten or twelve years ago there was a vast grove of them that stretched between Palestinian Bethlehem and Israeli settlements on the other side of the valley. Over the years, the trees have disappeared as the settlements have crept closer and closer in the seemingly inexorable absorption of not just land but history and culture.

The trees seemed to represent an ancient thing — a kind of unarmed peacekeeping force — reminding people of their shared and intertwined histories and destinies. We chop them down at our peril. As I’ve watched the trees disappear, over the years, it has always seemed like something ominous was closing in somehow and their enduring peace stripped away.

Today, as I watched news come in of the renewal of the horrifying cycle of violence I keep thinking of those trees. Perhaps we’ll plant more. Sometimes they seem the only sane thing in a world spinning too fast. Perhaps as they disappear in one desert they can grow here. In the meantime, I’ll water them and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Yours in Christ,

Fr Robert