O Sun of Justice

We follow along the arbor circuit to the fifth tree and read its sign:  “O Sun of Justice!  Come, shine on those lost in the darkness of death.”  Here is an evergreen with broad and glossy leaves, grown mostly for its fruit.  And, due to its longevity, a single tree provides for many generations.  The fruit has been famous since ancient times in Asia and is now found in many sunny parts of the world.

The sweet orange is a crossbreeding between two species – the pomelo and the mandarin – with a leathery rind and segmented, orange pulp.  This hybrid citrus owes its renown to seafarers – explorers and traders stowed it to include vitamin C in their diet and fend off scurvy.  The high vitamin C in oranges and their juice helps fight infections and heal wounds.  Their rich vitamin A also benefits vision.

Do you remember…  Things are not always what they appear to be…  Orange the fruit came before orange the color.  There was no word for the color.  The fruit was referred to as “red-yellow” before it arrived in Europe.  Orange is the second color of the rainbow – the spectrum of red and yellow on either side.  Russian painter, Wassily Kandinsky, described orange as “red brought nearer to humanity by yellow.”

O Radiant Dawn, you are here personified by the orange citrus.  Little hybrid, the Father cultivated you – a cross between two natures – human and divine.  Now in utero, you are in the twilight time of scattered orange hues across the sky…

Come, O Rising Sun, break forth with a vivid orange glow upon the creche of the earth and outshine that diffused light.  For a luminous sunrise symbolizes the birth of a new baby.  Christmas infant, you represent a new stage of life, a renewed sense of purpose, a revived spirit, the true Light.  Your red lifeblood will be brought nearer to humanity by your golden divinity.

O Sun of Justice! Come, shine on those lost in the darkness of death.  Within our segmented existence, eradicate contagion, heal chronic wounds, restore vision, rejuvenate the deadened.  For in you, God incarnate, time and space are hybridized and you work miracles!