Tree and tree: obedience on the wood; cosmic cross

And the sin to which the tree had given birth was wiped away by the tree of obedience, on which the Son of Man was nailed, obedient to God; so, abolishing the knowledge of evil, he introduced and distributed the knowledge of good. (Gen 2:17; Phil 2:8) As evil is to disobey God, to obey God is the good.

Therefore the Word speaks through the prophet Isaiah, revealing beforehand what must be fulfilled — for to be a prophet is to announce what is to come. By that means the Word says: ‘I will not refuse and will not contradict. I offered my back to blows and my cheeks to slaps, and I did not hide my face from shameful spitting.’ (Isa 50:6)

By the obedience he practiced unto death, being fastened upon the wood, he atoned for the ancient disobedience that the wood had provoked. (Phil 2:8; 1 Pet 2:24)

Almighty Word of God, his invisible presence extends through the whole creation and upholds its length, breadth, height, and depth: all things are governed by the Word of God. (Eph 3:18; Col 1:17) He was crucified, the Son of God, in these four dimensions — he whose universe already bore the cross-shaped imprint. Having made himself visible, he had to show in a sensible way, upon the cross, his invisible working. For it is he who lights the heights — that is, the heavens — who searches the depths of the earth; he ranges the stretch from east to west, reaches the vast space from north to south, and calls to the knowledge of his Father the human beings scattered everywhere. (Jn 12:32)