Tree Hugging Jesus

Artist Unknown

“And Jesus led the Sons of Light to an ancient tree by the side of the river, and there he knelt at the place where the roots, gnarled and hoary with age, spread over the river edge. And the Sons of Light knelt also, and they did touch with reverence the trunk of the ancient tree, for it was taught to them that the trees are the Brothers of the Sons of Men. For their mother is the same, the Earthly Mother, whose blood runs in the sap of the tree and in the body of the Son of Man. And their father is the same, the Heavenly Father, whose laws are written in the branches of the tree, and whose laws are engraved in the forehead of the Son of Man.” —The Essene Gospel of Peace, Book 4

Now this is a Jesus I can resonate with! I like my Shepherd to be a little bit of a tree hugger. How about you? This is the Jesus that was lost during the selection of the books that became the New Testament. This is the Jesus of the minority instead of the majority, the people whose opinions mainstream Christianity tried to silence. (My Wiccan friends can definitely related to that!) Thankfully some of their writings survived! One of my favorites is the Essene Gospel of Peace, Book 4. If you’ve never heard of it before, definitely give it a read. The full text can be found at http://essene.com/GospelOfPeace/index.html

About David Taliesin

My name is David Taliesin. I'm an writer, teacher and retreat leader who explores the connections between Christian and Pagan Spirituality. E-mail me with any personal comments you'd like to share and I will do my best to answer them. You can also contact me through my Facebook page www.facebook.com/davidtaliesinauthor

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