“The leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations.”

Revelation 22:2b

This quote hangs in large wooden letters on the wall of the Bash Chapel at Tall Oaks, our denomination’s conference center near Bonner Springs, KS. A few weeks ago, our staff gathered in the Bash chapel for morning prayers to begin the day of staff retreat. Each time I read those words, I remember Dr. Bash, our former senior minister who passionately worked for interfaith dialogue back in the 1960s.

It was so fitting then, that the chapel was donated by two families: one Jewish and one Christian. The Merrills of our congregation and the Soslands, good friends of the Merrills, created this space for all to worship, with the trickle of a fountain and the flicker of a flame and a view of the trees rather than a cross or a menorah to center one’s thoughts on the God of all creation and all civilizations.

I thought again of this quote, “the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the nations,” when I read about those who were murdered while worshipping God at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. The longing for peace and healing has not come into fullness in our land. While in Charleston on vacation, I visited the oldest Reform Synagogue in America. Funny that it is found in the Deep South. During a tour, the synagogue guide explained how in the 1700s, people who were Jewish found welcome and inclusion in Charleston. And inside the Ark of the Covenant is a Torah scroll that dates to the Revolutionary War. Historians tell us that in 1790, George Washington wrote a letter to a synagogue in Rhode Island saying that in America “everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.” (Micah 4:4)

All of this has come as a wake up call to me. There is more work to do than I previously thought. We need to better understand other people’s faith. We can learn from each other about the mystery of a God who can never be fully known in this life. We can advocate for respecting the beauty of another’s tradition. The vision of God is for us to live in harmony and peace. In what ways might God use us as leaves of the trees for the healing of the nations?

With grace and peace,
Carla