Trees

Snow Tree, by John of the North

Children’s Sermon

16 February 2025

Do you guys have plants at home? Do you water them? It can be tricky, can’t it? If you don’t give them enough, they start to die; if you give them too much, they start to die. We aren’t terribly good at keeping green things alive in our household. And just imagine how the plants would have to feel, being dependent upon such unreliable waterers as me.

Now if I go to a park, like Green Island or Black’s Grove or Glendalough, I find some pretty happy trees planted along rivers and streams. They never have to worry about not getting enough. They pull up the water with their roots, and it percolates all throughout their xylem and phloem, until it evaporates into the air through their leaves.

No matter how much life the trees drink up, there’s always more to be had. They never run out. They yield their fruit in due season. They wake up every spring. And they have more than they could ever need, enough for all the forest.

In our readings this morning—from the Prophet Jeremiah, and the First Psalm—we are told that, when we trust in God, we’re like trees planted by streams of water. We never have to worry about drying up or not producing fruit. Fire comes, and we’re okay. Droughts come, and we’re okay. Winds whip up and we stay right where we are, strong and steady.

The love of God for us is like that river. It never runs dry, even when bad things happen. No matter how much love we take from God, there will always be infinitely more. And it seeps through us like water, keeping us alive, keeping us healthy and happy. And then it percolates away, out from us to all the world around us, to everyone in need.

When we trust in God, life can still be hard. Bad things happen, like they do to everybody. But we know, no matter what, that God is with us. He will never leave us. His love cannot run dry. And even if we get chopped down, we will grow back again. Because God’s love gives us life: He never runs out of love, so we never run out of life.

Nothing can change that. Nothing can change God’s love. Not even sickness. Not even death. So let’s not trust in things that we could lose. Let’s trust the things that never run dry: goodness, beauty, truth, love. These things come from God. These things are God. And God will never disappoint us. He will always raise us up.

Okay? Let’s pray.