Early one Christmas morning, the Reverend Charles Albert Tindley was passing a church in Philadelphia that had its front doors open. Noticing the large intergenerational group moving in and out of the church, he approached the building to discover what the occasion was.

As he drew close, he saw a large tree that was beautifully trimmed and adorned with numerous packages. The packages were being distributed individually by a young man. He plucked them from branches as he sat perched on a stepladder. Each package bore someone’s name. Gently the young man lifted each from the branches and called out the recipient’s name. The happy recipients expressed great joy on receiving their packages.

Rev Tindley remained there until the tree was void of packages and most of the group had exited to the street. He noticed a little boy, poorly clothed, who walked slowly from the building. The boy had received no gift; his name had not been called. His smile was mechanical. His eyes were filled with tears and his lips quivered in silence. Magnetized by the scene, Rev. Tindley followed the little boy, who walked down the street and entered his home.

Deeply moved by this experience, Rev. Tindley sighed and turned away, with a burning question on his heart. He wondered whether the time would ever come when the Spirit of Christ would move people to share with all people. Would a time come when all people – young and old, rich and poor – would receive some “token” of love on Christmas Day? This event inspired him to write a sermon entitled “Heaven’s Christmas Tree”. Perceiving Christ as the tree of life, Rev. Tindley portrayed Christ as a Christmas tree. As a tree, yes, a Christmas tree, he noted that Christ bears a gift of blessing for every human being in the world.