And Still that Tree Does Stand . . .

Lent arrived and that Christmas Tree that Wouldn't didn't.
It still stood there.
It wasn't going anywhere.
The festive lights were now long gone.
The shiny ornaments and decorations were long ago stashed away.
Still the tree stood.
Or what remained of it still stood.
By the arrival of Lent almost all of the pine needles were also gone, fallen, vacuumed and properly disposed of.
The skeleton of that Tree remained - the double trunks and the branches.
But even these were drying.
And as they dried, they grew increasingly brittle.
And then it started.
The tiny ones first and within days and weeks the larger ones.
The branches began to break and fall.
The brittle bones of the tree began to break.
The poor thing was becoming less and less.
(And full disclosure here - I will admit to "helping" some of those branches break away.)
Palm Sunday arrived.
It was again time to wave those palm fronds and proclaim, "Hosanna!"
And two stark, lonely limbs remained standing of that Christmas Tree that Wouldn't.
Two trunks formed the base of that tree.
Two trunks still remained.
And that was all that remained, those two bare and barren stems of that once magnificent tree.
The two remaining stems, that double trunk,, still jutted upward, six feet? seven? Perhaps even a bit more.
This stark memento of days gone by, wondrous days, glory days, jubilant days, now just this stark memento stood silently before us.
It still would not go away.
At least for that Palm Sunday it would remain with us.
And then, shortly after the waving of the palms, something happened.
Only a handful who happened to be present that afternoon would notice it.
Only a select few would know.
For a brief while, the Christmas Tree that Wouldn't, did!
It actually went away.
For just a brief while, a few minutes,
just long enough . . .
and when it was returned only one trunk remained.
The second had been removed.
Deliberately.
Now only one stark but strong stem remained of the Christmas Tree that Wouldn't;t
And that single tree trunk stood in greeting as we gathered on that Thursday Evening to begin the most sacred of our days.
Triduum began and as we entered into these hours we were greeted yet again by all that remained, a strong, single stem jutting heavenward.
It was time for the Tree to unfold the greatest of its lessons!


Oh, yes! Still more is coming . . .


Meantime - -  stay safe; stay home; stay strong!