A few years ago I preached an Easter sermon on fungus: the amazing underground networks that connect trees so that a whole forest can operate as one organism. The hub of that forest organism is sometimes called a mother tree, an elder that shares memory and resources with others. Research on this phenomenon has been done by the ecologist Suzanne Simard, among others.  Simard describes how trees that are dying in this network offer their nutrients to those around them. This sounded surprisingly similar to what Jesus did through his death and resurrection.

Our scriptures are full of shoots, branches, and vines, many of them describing God. How might it challenge or inspire our faith to focus on these images? How might it change our value for creation?

I’m grateful to Ben Brody for composing a beautiful tune for this text. You can find the piece at GIA Unbound and reproduce it for worship with One License #U01530. Listen to Ben sing it here: