Reflection on 9th Hour of Friday

This is the second to last of the 9th Hour offices. I have yet another short reflection in mind for this office, but brevity will not impede the magnitude of the item. I'm speaking of the "Tree."

In Syriac, it is common to refer to the Cross as the Wood or Tree. A seemingly simple epithet that has carried over to other Semitic languages, primarily Arabic. The title itself is used in the Qolo and the Etro. But why is it important that the Cross be called the Tree? As a quick refreshing, or if this is the first time you're reading a post of mine - a quick lesson, certain Syriac Fathers, such as Mor Ephrem, viewed the expulsion from the Garden of Eden as an act of mercy. For greater detail, one should read Mor Ephrem's commentary on Genesis (which can be found here, gratis CUA) but the footnotes are that Adam had fallen and if he had eaten of the Tree of Life he would have made humanity stuck in a state of eternal separation from God. But as our tradition tells us, God is the "Lover of Mankind" and so He would rather help us choose a path of perfection rather than take vengeance on us for disobedience.

What's important about this, then, is that there is a Tree of Life that we have been barred from. However, by Jesus's ministry and death, He permitted us to re-obtain unity with God. Part of this mystery of salvation was His death upon the Cross - the Tree. The typology made is that the Cross is the Tree of Life, and the Messiah is the Fruit itself. While it is a bit hard to follow in English, the Etro  speaks of Jesus's self-sacrifice being a "pleasing perfume" upon the Tree. In Syriac, there are a few play on words, such as pleasing (in scent) is the same as fragrant, and offering up is etymologically the same as an incense offering. In short, we offer incense in a very limited and unworthy symbolic recreation of Jesus's sacrifice. We have been redeemed but it remains up to us whether we shall take refuge in the "impregnable stronghold" of the holy and free ourselves by taking up the "yoke of Your [God's] precepts" or fall victim to marauding sin or drown in the "sea of debt."

To view the Ninth Hour of Friday, click here.

Our Lord, accept our service, our prayers, come to our aid and have mercy on us!