“Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.” ~Martin Luther
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic most of us celebrated Easter differently than perhaps ever before. That was certainly true for me. I didn’t cook a big dinner for my family as I often do either on Saturday or Sunday of Easter weekend. We didn’t have a fun Easter egg hunt for the grandkids. I didn’t even buy any Easter candy. None. I do miss those Starburst jellybeans. 🙂 I didn’t get up early to go to a Sunrise Service as I have done in the past. I didn’t even get ready and go to regular church services. That was pretty much the same for everybody here in Kentucky. But that didn’t change that today Christians everywhere celebrated Resurrection Day. While the Bible does say Christians should not forsake gathering to worship, being in a church house doesn’t make one a Christian. Believing in Christ makes you a Christian and although most of us would have liked to have been in one of those church houses today, we celebrated Resurrection Morning anyway at our homes and on social media. We considered the empty tomb and what it means for each of us individually. We remembered all the Easter sermons from the past and listened to more Easter messages today.
“To a Christian, Easter Sunday means everything, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” ~Bernhard Langer
Also, although we might not have been able to have those family gatherings, we were able to talk to our loved ones, perhaps even video chat. I was happy to know my children were having good times with their families. And that they were well. That is why we are staying home. So that most of us can stay well. People are still getting sick with the virus. Some are dying. We need to continue our prayers for those families grieving lost loved ones. We need to remember the nurses and doctors and all those on the front lines of this invisible enemy. That includes those grocery workers and others who get up and go out every day to work. May we keep them and their families in mind as we abide by the instructions to social distance. This too shall pass, but meanwhile may we continue to find joy in the beauty of spring and the love of Christ.
I’ve shared the legend of the dogwood before but with the dogwoods bursting out in blooms this week and it being Easter weekend, I decided to share it again. I hope you will be touched by this legend by an unknown author. There’s no Biblical basis for it, but it’s still a story that might make you feel good.
THE LEGEND OF THE DOGWOOD
Two thousand years ago, few trees in the Middle East were not big enough to construct anything. However, one tree was valued above the others for its thick trunk and fine, strong wood. When the Romans came to rule over Jerusalem, their government used this same timber to build the crosses for executing criminals. A group of workers were assigned to gather wood for the crosses. Before long, every Roman official knew the best wood came from these gatherers of execution wood, so those workers became popular.
One day, the wood gatherers received a special request. An officer of the Roman court came and said, “The King of Jews is to be put to death. Deliver an extra-large cross made from your finest wood.” So, a fresh tree was cut from the forest of the trees with thick trunks and fine, strong wood. An extra-tall (and extra-heavy) cross was quickly made and delivered.
Three days after the death of Jesus of Nazereth, the chief wood gatherer got alarming news. “All of our finest trees are withering!” the messenger whispered. The wood gatherer hurried to the forest and saw that it was true.
Several years later, the chief wood gatherer heard that, every spring, many people visited the old forest that had once made his job so easy. Despite his advancing years, he set out to discover why. He saw the remains of forest, now like a salty bottoms, with only a few trees still standing tall, baked, lifeless and rotting.
But what was this? As he drew closer, his feeble eyes could make out the people walking among thousands of beautiful, flowering bushes. Seeing one of his own workers there, the old man said, “No one could ever make a cross out of this twisted wood. Our finest tree has gone to the dogs!” He noticed the beautiful white flowers, each blossom looking as if it had been burned from the touch of a miniature cross. So…an old and beautiful legend has it that, at the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other monarchs of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength it was selected as the timber for the cross, but to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all said to it: “Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a gibbet. Henceforth it will be slender, bent and twisted and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross — two long and two short petals. In the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints — brown with rust and stained with red — and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.
The dogwood is not mentioned in the Bible. The type of tree the cross was from is not named. But that doesn’t keep the story or legend from making a person look at the blooms and think about Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. As George Washington Carver says in this quote, God can speak to us through nature if we tune in.
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver
So how did you celebrate Easter today?
Comments 14
Sadly, stayed home and Face Timed with kids and grandkids. Made a small dinner for my husband and I.
Author
Not our usual Easter days, was it, Linda? I missed being at church and seeing family.
Easter was celebrated here by watching our church service which is televised live over a local station. This has been a ministry of FBC Biloxi as long as I remember. We joined in 1978. Our preacher does an amazing job preaching to an empty sanctuary. Probably not completely empty as there are five members of the Praise team who begin the worship service with their talent. At our age we miss the traditional Easter Hymns. It has been many years since we have started the Easter service with Christ the Lord Has Risen Today. When else would be more appropriate for this beautiful hymn to be sung?! I listened to several renditions on you tube. One was sung and accompanied by guitars, keyboard and drums so it can be done. But how fantastic is it to hear a prelude of that hymn by an organ which stands dormant in the sanctuary! 🙁 otherwise we had an enjoyable lazy day. I had fixed chicken and dumplings the day before-we had leftovers 😊 Thank you for sharing the gorgeous picture! God bless you and keep you and your family well. 🙏🏻
Author
I love chicken and dumplings, Karen, but never make them. My husband doesn’t like them and I seem to be inept at making them the few times I’ve tried. I fixed steak for us, but I’d rather have chicken and dumplings. 🙂
Our little country church is very traditional. We don’t have a praise team. Maybe that’s why we don’t have any young people. But we do sing all those old hymns. I don’t know the one you mention but sounds like the perfect Easter song. We always sing “Up from the Grave He Arose.” And then maybe “He Lives.” This year we didn’t sing anything since we don’t have the technology to live stream a service. Our pastor did try to video his sermon but he wasn’t able to get it up on Facebook. I’m not sure why.
Glad you had a good worship day.
Your blooms are so beautiful. Our trees all bloomed, storms blew away. Good for pollen to be gone we are green like Kermit.
We had terrible weather here, but it made being inside feel nice. I have been a bit more under the weather😷🤒 Coughing to the point I gave myself headache & backache, neck, shoulders..well you get it. Could even do reading for more than 10 min or computer. Monday we had tree’s down from bad storm husband & son out for hours with chainsaw.
Aok. Could be worse. We have electric, thousands dont.
Author
I hope you are feeling better, Kathy. That sounds really bad. Allergies? But the coughing sounds as though it’s hard on you. Maybe with the pollen gone you’ll feel better.
Glad you made it through the storms okay. Things were a disaster in many areas of the south.
Glad you enjoyed the flowers. They may all get frozen tonight. Down into the twenties they say.
I stayed in. Spent the afternoon and evening watching Gunsmoke marathon on INSP.
March is James Arness month at INSP. Have enjoyed it all. Also showing The Virginian.
Since the volume on my little laptop is very low while livestreaming I will listen to my church service on youtube today. Missing my church family, missing the hugs we shared. Things will be different, I’m sure, when we reconvene.
Author
That’s a lot of Matt Dillon, Miss Kitty and Chester, Loretta. Neat how all the old shows can be available now to people who have streaming services.
Hope you enjoyed church. I miss going to church and seeing the people. You do have to wonder if people will be afraid of hugs and handshakes now.
My husband and I joined our Sunday school class on Zoom for a lesson and prayer, and then we watched our church service on YouTube from our church’s website. Following our time of worship, our daughter and her beau joined us for lunch, which we ordered from a restaurant. It was delicious and our time together sweet.
I’m glad you had a good time of worship as well. Happy Easter!
Author
Sounds like a lovely Easter day with worship and family, Suzanne. I’ve heard many are doing Zoom now to connect. People can find a way to worship, can’t they?
What a lovely story. I will remember it. The church is in our hearts even when in the home.
Author
You are so right, Karen. The people are the church. The church building is only where the church meets. So it’s good to have the church in our heart. I almost included in my post the quote I read once that said something about how sitting in a church didn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Being in church is good, but that isn’t what makes us Christians. It’s just what most Christians want to do – gather with their church families for support and encouragement and service opportunities. And we pray we will be able to do that again soon.
Happy Easter and God Bless,Ann! Jesus Christ is Risen; he is Risen Indeed! 🙌🎉John 21✝️💜
Author
Beautiful chapter in John, Emily. Thanks for reminding me to read it with your comment. That last verse in John 21 is one of my favorite verses simply because of the wonder it shows and how we can never know all the works of the Lord because they are so many and so mighty. Hope you had a blessed Resurrection Day yesterday.