Hopes and
Dreams (2016)
Fr. Martin Fuchs´s sermon on 12th June 2016 in Prague, Czech republic
***
Four trees were talking about their hopes and dreams. The first tree wanted
to be a wooden treasure chest filled with gold and precious stones. The second
dreamt to be the material of a famous sculptor. The third wanted to become the
largest ship in the world and the fourth longed to become the tallest tree in
the forest.
One by one the trees were cut. And it seemed that their dreams would not
come true. The first was used as a manger for animals, not a treasure chest.
The second was not brought into the studio of a famous sculptor but into a
simple workshop of a poor and unknown carpenter. The third was not used for a
large ship but for a simple fishing boat. And the fourth was far from being the
tallest tree in the forest. He was thrown away by the woodworkers.
All four had hopes and it seemed that their dreams would not be fulfilled.
Or could they still count that their hopes would realize one day?
The manger was used as a bed for Our Lord Jesus Christ. The second tree was
brought to the workshop of Saint Joseph where Jesus Christ helped his foster
father. He was then used by the most famous sculptor the world has ever seen.
The third tree was not used for the largest ship but for Saint Peter’s
fishing boat from which Our Lord was preaching.
And the fourth tree was given to a group of Roman soldiers who used it to
prepare the altar on which Our Saviour offered Himself to His heavenly Father.
All hopes were fulfilled, in a completely different, but much more perfect
way.
The manger
The first tree became the manger of Our Saviour. God wanted to show us that
he was not a king like kings who lived in the palaces. He was rich but He
renounced of all His riches to become a poor and to comfort the poor.
The wood of the first tree can still be admired in the church of Santa
Maria Maggiore in Rome. It carried the most precious treasure this world has
ever carried.
The wood in
the workshop of the carpenter
The second tree was brought into the workshop of Saint Joseph. Yes, the New
Testament tells us that Saint Joseph was a carpenter. “Jesus was being
considered as a carpenter’s son.“ (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3)
When the Holy bible mentions this kind of job, the word “carpenter“ usually
means not only a roof maker but somebody who constructs entire houses, all kind
of furniture, and tools.
In 2 Samuel 5:11, we read: “Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent messengers to
David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons for walls: and they built a
house for David.“
And in 2 Chronicles 24:12: “And the king and Joiada gave it to those who
were over the works of the house of the Lord: but they hired with it
stonecutters, and artificers of every kind of work to repair the house of the
Lord.“
In 1 Esdras 3:7: “And they gave money to hewers of stones and to masons:
and meat and drink, and oil to the Sidonians and Tyrians, to bring cedar trees
from Libanus to the sea of Joppe, according to the orders which Cyrus king of
the Persians had given them“ to rebuilt the Jewish temple.
When the Holy bible talks about carpenters, it describes men with technical
skills who worked hard to make all the necessary earnings for life, work, and
worship.
And now the Creator of the universe worked in Nazareth and later on He went
to heaven to prepare a place for us.
“In my Father's house there are many mansions. If not, I would have told
you: because I go to prepare a place for you. And if I shall go, and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and will take you to myself; that where I am,
you also may be.“ (John 14:2-4)
Saint
Peter’s fisher boat
Now we come to the third tree, although it became only a boat of a simple
fisherman, it was the boat that the world will never forget.
After the period of preparation in Nazareth, Our Lord put the hammer aside
and went to the village of Capharnaum, on the shores of the Lake Galilee. He
called a couple of fishermen to become his disciples.
With the little boat of Saint Peter He went from one place to another to preach
and perform miracles.
From this boat Peter was fishing all night without catching anything. In
the morning, he was a witness of a great miracle: “Our Lord said to Simon:
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering
said to him: Master, we have laboured all the night, and have taken nothing:
but at thy word I will let down the net.
And when they had done this, they enclosed a very great multitude of
fishes, and their net broke. And they beckoned to their partners that were in
another ship that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled
both the ships, so that they were almost sinking. Which when Simon Peter saw,
he fell down at Jesus's knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O
Lord. For he was wholly astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught
of the fishes which they had taken. And so were also James and John the sons of
Zebedee, who were Simon's partners. And Jesus saith to Simon: Fear not: from
henceforth thou shalt catch men.“ (Luke 5:4-10)
Once Our Lord slept in this boat. Once he used it as his pulpit. This boat
saw Our Saviour coming on the waves to the disciples and also how he commanded
the great storm of wind: “Peace, be still.“ (Mark 4:39)
Although Jesus had not followed any lessons to preach, His sermons were the
most famous speeches the world had ever heard. He didn’t need to correct one
word in His speeches. He was God who could neither lie nor cheat.
Although He never got a degree in psychology, He knew more about the human
heart than any psychologist or pastor. Although He had never studied medicine,
He healed all the sick they brought to Him. Although He had not received
manager courses, He founded an organisation that changed the world. And His
message changed millions of people throughout the centuries. Yes, “the Son of
man is not come to be ministered unto, but to minister.“ (Matthew 20:28)
Finally, this fisher boat should also see the risen Saviour. When the
disciples sadly returned to their former jobs after Good Friday, He appeared to
them at the Sea of Tiberias to comfort them. (John 21:3)
The Cross on
Golgotha
The fourth tree had wanted to become
the tallest tree and it became it, so it was seen all over the world. Its wood
was used for the altar of God’s Son.
When we walk through the forest these days, let us think a little of the
legend of the four trees: The manger, the material of the carpenter, the
fishing boat and the Cross.
Apparently, all four trees had to bury their hopes, but all their hopes
were fulfilled in a completely different but in much more perfect way.
Let us not be discouraged if our life takes a quite different direction
than we thought in the beginning.
If we let be guided ourselves by God, also our wishes will be fulfilled in
a much more perfect way. Amen.