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Tendingthe treeThe olive branch has long been a symbol of peace. The workinvolved in planting and nurturing an olive tree can be a beautiful image for the conscientiouscultivation of peace. In the Middle East, planting olive trees can literally take onthe form of grassroots peacemaking. In recent years, the Israeli government has authorizedthe uprooting and destruction of thousands of olive trees on land disputed by the Palestiniansand Israelis. People of goodwill from all faiths have participated in the replanting of olivetrees as a sign calling for justice and peace in the region.Like God’s vision of peace, once established, olive trees are extremely hardy, and the fruit isuseful in many realms of life. Olive oil is relished for cooking and as a base for fragrant oils.In Bible times it was used as fuel for clay lamps; to anoint kings, as an antidote for poison,and an agent for cleaning wounds. As fuel, olive wood makes the hottest of fires, but in thecarver’s hand, olive wood can be made into objects of great beauty.Jesus is our clearest revelation of how peace is lived out. While telling his disciples aboutloving enemies, he also exhorted them: “You are the light of the world. . . No one afterlighting a lamp puts it under a bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it giveslight to all in the house” (Matt. 5:14, 15). As the olive tree shows, the work ofcultivating peace has many by-products, including illuminating andbringing healing to the world.Prayer and resistance, the twinpillars of Christian peacemaking, are twointerlocking ways of giving expression to our lifein the dwelling place of God. They come fromthe same source and lead to the same goal.”—Henri NouwenNon-violence is impossible without God.A way of life that resists evil, speaks the truth,risks suffering and death, and enters into theprocess of global transformation reliesentirely on God. It begins with prayer and isrooted and centred on God. Practitioners of non-violencelove God and allow God to disarm their hearts so thatGod can transform the world.—John Dear, Disarming the Heart4