In the depths of the forest there were three trees growing side by side, and one day they got to talking. One of the trees started the conversation, voicing his ambitions, saying: "When I get cut down I want to be a cradle to hold a baby, because cradles are the center of attention and affection for everybody within a household." With this the second tree spoke up in a loud voice: "When I get cut down I'd like to be a sailing yacht to carry rich and famous people to all the harbors of the world." A few moments passed and then finally the third tree spoke, saying quietly, "You know, if I am ever cut down I'd like to be a signpost to direct people along the right path. I would like to show people the way when they are lost and have gone astray."
Time went by and before long the three trees were cut down and taken off to the mill for processing. Soon a man came to the mill and took the first tree away. The first tree had expressed a desire to be a cradle. There was nothing wrong with that, but something else was planned. The man took the tree away and turned into a dirty old stable to house sheep and cattle and donkeys.
Then another man came to the mill for the second tree. This tree wanted to be a sailing yacht and there was nothing wrong with that, but something else was planned. The second tree was turned into a filthy old fishing boat constantly filled with the smell of dead fish.
Before too long the third tree was also taken from the mill. The third tree wanted to be a signpost-truly a noble plan for a humble tree, but there was another plan. This third tree was taken away by a centurion and made into a cross for crucifying criminals.
Now it would seem that the plans and ambitions of the three trees had disappeared. It would seem that they had failed in all they had desired to achieve.
It was not long, however, before, on a cold winter's night, a young man and his wife came along. The wife was pregnant and they had nowhere to stay. So they decided to make that stable their home for the night. That mother was Mary and she gave birth to Jesus our Savior that night in the stable.
The stable, the first tree, wanted to be the center of attention and affection. It thought that to do this it had to be a cradle. It didn't. It needed to be a stable, because it was by becoming a stable that it became the center of attention and affection not only for the people of those times but for the people of all times. Even to this day that stable is still the focus of our attention and affection in our homes and churches.
The Child grew up. He was the Christ, and He walked and talked through the streets of the world proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven. The second tree, the fishing boat, got to carry the richest and most famous person ever to walk the face of the earth. The second tree had believed that to carry important people it would have to be a sailing yacht. The tree was wrong. It needed to be a fishing boat. As a fishing boat it became the platform from which our Savior delivered His message not only to the people of that time but to the people of all times.
But this man, Jesus, was just a young man, and He spoke His message far too clearly and uncompromisingly. Where there was darkness He was trying to shine a light, while other people were guarding the light switch. He challenged the people both above Him and below Him to change in a way that was far too direct for their liking. So as people always do when they don't like the message, they killed the messenger. They dragged him outside the gates of the city, and on that cross, the third tree, they crucified Him.
The third tree wanted to be a signpost, and indeed it became the greatest signpost of all times. The cross is the signpost that leads us along the right path. The cross is the signpost that leads us back to the right path when we are lost and have gone astray.
The lesson of the story is simple. Abandon ourselves and trust in God!
Have a blessed Christmas season! Father Peter Schuster
P.S. The story is taken from Matthew Kelly's book entitled "A Call To Joy." The story is found on pages 29-31.
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