| Please bring cut flowers to St. James' Church on Easter Day! After the 9:00am and  11:00am services, the children and youth will "flower" the cross that will be standing outside of the west door of St. James' Church. Here is a little history of the tradition. "In spite of its function as a brutal form of execution, the cross stands at the center of our faith as a symbol of life. Saint Paul speaks of the shame of the cross, while Saint John portrays the cross as the principal sign of the glory of Christ, but both recognize that the cross is the source of life. There can be no Easter without Good Friday, no Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Indeed, the cross, rather than the empty tomb, has held the place of honor as the primary symbol of the Christian faith. Christian art certainly has many examples of the cross as an instrument of suffering and death, but some of the earliest depictions of the cross emphasize its life-giving qualities. The flowering cross is found in Christian art as early as the sixth century and is based on a legend that says that the cross itself burst into bloom at the moment that Jesus died. The legend of the True Cross describes how the wood of the cross came from a tree that sprang from a seed taken from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden. A modern expression of this idea may be found in the custom of flowering the cross. On Easter morning, flowers are used to decorate a cross. The cross can be of any size and needs to have wire or mesh netting wrapped loosely around it so the stems of the flowers can be inserted. In cooler climates, the cross may be set up inside the church, and it may be necessary to obtain flowers from a florist. But, ideally, the cross should be set up outside as a witness to those who pass by. If gardens are in bloom, bringing cut flowers from home can be a wonderful offering in honor of the risen Lord, and can also provide an opportunity for families to talk about the meaning of the cross and the resurrection." |
Posts