A long sequential dream early this morning, in a small-town center, happily busy and enlivened. Dad Geisel was there and we were riding in a car or truck together, he was driving, looking in the rearview mirror asking me if we were going in the right direction, on Rt 14 west? Or East? There were throngs of people traveling on bicycles and walking going to their work or marketing. Then, in the darkness of the morning, almost black – except I could see some light of the moon, my eyes and ears were popped open, and I was fully awake to hear:

            The Parable of the Trees. Consider this, child

What do you mean, ‘parable of the trees’? I’ve never heard of this. Are You asking me to write a parable? I can’t write a parable, Lord. What would I say? ‘Once upon a time there were three trees…’ Lord, help me, I don’t even know what the message of a parable would be. What trees do you mean?

            The Parable of the Trees. Now awaken

I see by the very faint light what time it is (~0500), arise, dress, and set off for the bridge with Luke. It is a frosty 6 or 7° with a breeze from the west-northwest (a wind chill of -2°). A simple search for the phrase ‘parable of the trees’ returns this word from the book of Judges, Ch 9:7-15 (and the curse of Jotham against Abimelech and the people, v.16-20), The Olive Tree, The Fig Tree, The Vine, And The Bramble.

Walking now in the wind, listening to the crunch of my feet on wind-swept, wind-blasted ice and snow, watching the sky turn orange, and I hear:

            Your Nation, your land is being choked and destroyed by brambles and invasive species but I am raising up a tree to lead you for a time, an oak, strong and not perfect. Some are so quick to point at the imperfections, Ah Ha, they cry, ‘a flabby oak’ or ‘See how it is so misshapen’, or crying aloud in their false piety ‘It bears no fruit, this oak! Of course it’s not from God!’

            I AM GOD and these are my trees. Who of your foul mouths will face me to tell me, to MY Face that they are not?

(There is a deeper shivering that is not from the cold and wind)

            Do you remember how to prune, MY child? Remember what MY child John (the Baptist) spoke:

            … The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire …