Grafting Grace
Date: March 22, 2026 Location: Stetson Memorial UMC The Mystery of Grafting Friends, have you ever imagined a single tree bearing 40 different kinds of fruit ? Professor Sam Van Aken, a sculptor from Syracuse University, created a "Tree of 40 Fruit" using the technique of grafting. On this single tree, you can find peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, and nectarines. By choosing the biblical number "40"—reminiscent of the 40 days and nights of Noah’s flood—he artistically expressed growth, hope, and resurrection rising out of hardship. This principle of grafting was a very familiar agricultural technique in the ancient Near East. In Romans 11 , the Apostle Paul uses this imagery to explain the salvation of the Gentiles. Normally, farmers graft a high-quality branch onto a sturdy wild olive root to increase the yield. However, Paul presents a stunning reversal : God took us—the "wild olive branches" who could not bear good fruit—and g...
