Along the Trails of East Texas

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 ESV).

Approaching Spring I am reminded of the Texas State Train Depot in Rusk, Texas. You can board one of the refurbished train cars and feel like you’ve been transported to a simpler, more leisurely time where the distractions of crazy culture suddenly disappear. You can breathe deeply in the clean fresh air of a round-trip, four-hour, 25-mile rail journey through the Piney Woods of East Texas where history is just part of the journey. In the Spring, you’ll see redbuds, wildflowers, and dogwoods. The dogwood tree is a common in East Texas. It is prized for its delicate flowers and scent. Surprisingly it is native to the Middle East. Many legends in Christianity include the dogwood. In fact, the tree has taken on symbolic meaning for many cultures. The legend surrounding the symbolic meaning of a dogwood tree is intrinsically linked to Christianity. It is said that the wood of the dogwood tree is the hardest and that it was chosen to be used in the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Although there are no direct accounts that this is so, it is known that dogwood grew in the areas surrounding Jerusalem during this time period, and it is entirely likely that this wood was used. The legend of the tree continues that because it was used as part of the cross, that God cursed the dogwood forever after. Due to this supposed curse, the growth pattern of the dogwood tree is said to be stunted and twisted. Once again, there is no real historic fact to back this up, and there are no notes that show whether or not that the dogwood tree used to grow taller before the crucifixion. However, the tree does now have a growth pattern that is very twisted and short. The legend of the dogwood tree also extends to its flowers. Typically, the blossoms are four petaled with two long petals and two short petals, forming the shape of the sign of the cross. The flowers are typically white or pink with dark edging at the tips meant to signify the nails of the cross. The center of the blossom can be described as a crown of thorns and is also typically of a darker color than the rest of the blossom. Naturally I am turned toward thoughts of Easter as a result of these beautiful blossoms. This year Lent begins on March 6th and ends with Easter Sunday on April 21st. As I wrote yesterday, the whole of creation reveals the character and nature of God. With or without the legend, we can be sure of God’s love toward us in the beauty surrounding us. When Jesus talked about “greater love” in our reading today, there were no qualifiers. He has shown us a greater love than anything or anyone. Let’s celebrate that love toady!