The Oak Tree

Oak trees are found all over the world, and we have them here in our garden. Some can reach over 120 feet high and may live to 500 years. Here are some of their summer leaves. See how many you can find.

The oak provides shade, food, and medicine for animals and humans. Birds, especially blue jays, like their acorns and nest in their branches. You may see the blue jays or hear them searching for food.

An oak tree is usually nearby if you see acorns on the ground. Squirrels bury the acorns. In the spring and summer, you may see tiny oak saplings growing here and there.

The hardwood of the oak tree is a favorite for furniture and building houses. The floors in your house may be made of oak.

The oak is a tree recommended for planting in our city as our climate becomes hotter. New York City is planning to cover 30% of the city with trees. We are planting a few oak trees here.

The oak tree can grow so high that it attracts lightning, but oaks are known to quickly recover after lightning strikes. Maybe that’s why many ancient peoples saw the oak tree as having divine power. They’re mentioned in the Bible.

God speaks to Abraham near an oak tree at Mamre. (Genesis 18:1) The oak tree and all the trees of the forest are called to sing to God in Psalm 96:

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

    let the sea and what fills it resound;

    let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.

Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice

   before the Lord who comes,

   who comes to govern the earth,

Two Christian saints, St. Bridget and St. Boniface have connections to the oak tree. Bridget (born 431) built her original convent of oak wood in Kildare, Ireland. (Kildare in Gaelic means “Church of Oak”) The saint wished to bring the oak tree, sacred to the Druids of Ireland, into the new Christian faith.

Boniface (born c 675), a missionary to Germany, was challenged by Germans who believed the oak tree was divine. He cut down their sacred oak to prove God, the creator of heaven and earth, was the only God.

Today, we plant oak trees and recognize the blessings they bring. They are beautiful trees. They cool the earth and absorb dangerous carbon dioxide. They provide food, medicine, and shelter to human beings and animals, birds, and insects of all kinds. They bless us and the earth where they’re planted.

Jesus said, “Learn from the fig tree and the other trees.” (Luke 21:29). With the words of the psalm above, let’s bless them.