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Sunday
A Calvinist clergyman from Northhamptonshire is believed to have written the poem that, once set to music, became one of the season’s most beloved carols. I love Rev. Richard Hutchins’s “Christ the Apple Tree” composed in 1761, for how it grounds Jesus in the beauty of the natural world. “The tree of life my soul hath seen,” the poem begins, “Laden with fruit and always green.” And if the trees of nature are wondrous, then Christ the Apple Tree is more so.
As I researched the poem, I was reminded of three Biblical passages where trees stand in for the spiritual realm. In Song of Solomon (2:3), which uses erotic love to convey the nature of divine love, we read, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste.”
Then there is Jesus using a mustard tree to convey to his disciples a sense of the kingdom of God (Luke 13:18-19):
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
Finally, John of Patmos mentions the tree of life in the Book of Revelation (22:1-2):
And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Here’s the poem:
Christ the Apple Tree
By the Rev. Richard Hutchins
The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green;
The trees of nature fruitless be,
Compared with Christ the Apple Tree.His beauty doth all things excel,
By faith I know but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see,
In Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought;
I missed of all but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the Apple Tree.I’m weary with my former toil –
Here I will sit and rest awhile,
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.With great delight I’ll make my stay,
There’s none shall fright my soul away;
Among the sons of men I see
There’s none like Christ the Apple Tree.I’ll sit and eat this fruit divine,
It cheers my heart like spirit’al wine;
And now this fruit is sweet to me,
That grows on Christ the Apple Tree.This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.
British Christianity has special power because of its roots in Celtic nature religions (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is my favorite example), so I’m not surprised to learn that “Christ the Apple Tree” may have grown out of winter season songs used in wassailing apple orchards. Apparently there were once special ceremonies that involved pouring out libations to ensure the fertility of the trees. One imagines communities sitting around fires at this time of year, imbibing hard cider while praying to God or the green man or a combination of the two to ensure the return of spring.
I’ll set and eat this fruit divine, it cheers my heart like spirit’al wine.
