Love is such a mighty urge At springtime of the year, Flowing pond and bursting buds To tell us Easter's near. Life's as new, by act of faith, As when the world began, Robins sing in every branch And lilies rise again. ~ June Masters Bacher ~ Easter Morn By: Louise Lewin Matthews Easter morn with lilies fair Fills the church with perfumes rare, As their clouds of incense rise, Sweetest offerings to the skies. Stately lilies pure and white Flooding darkness with their light, Bloom and sorrow drifts away, On this holy hallow'd day. Easter Lilies bending low in the golden afterglow, Bear a message from the sod To the heavenly towers of God. On Easter Day the lilies bloom, Triumphant, risen from their tomb; Their bulbs have undergone rebirth, Born from the silence of the earth Symbolically, to tell all men That Christ, the Savior, lives again. The angels, pure and white as they, Have come and rolled the stone away And with the lifting of the stone, The shadow of the cross is gone! ~ June Masters Bacher ~ Easter Lily Legends Lilies were found growing in the garden of Gethsemane after Christ's agony. Often called the "white-robed apostles of hope," Tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies spring up where drops of Christ's sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and distress. Christian churches continue this tradition at Easter by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter lilies to commemorate the Resurrection and hope of life everlasting. The pure white lily has long been closely associated with the Virgin Mary. In early paintings, the Angel Gabriel is pictured extending to Mary branch of pure white lilies, announcing that she is to be the Mother of the Christ child. In other paintings, saints are pictured bringing vases full of white lilies to Mary and the Infant Jesus. Legend of the Dogwood According to legend at the time of Jesus the dogwood was a large strong tree like the oak or the cedar. Because it was a strong large tree it's wood was used to make the cross on which Jesus died. God in anguish for his Son's suffering decided that the dogwood would never be used again for such and awful deed. So God made the dogwood forevermore small and crooked. God also made its blossoms in the symbol of a cross with marks for the nails in the hands feet and the crown of thorns. Now each spring it blooms as a reminder of Christ's death. But because of its beauty and vibrancy it is also a reminder that Jesus rose again and lives. So through the dogwood God proclaims the truth that Jesus died for the sins of the world and rose again to give us eternal life. We are listening to the following song: He Touched Me Shackled by a heavy burden, 'neath a load of guilt and shame; Then the hand of Jesus touched me, And now I am no longer the same. He touched me, O, He touched me, And O, the joy that floods my soul. Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole. Since I met this blessed Savior, Since He cleansed and made me whole; I will never cease to praise Him, I'll shout it while eternity rolls. He touched me, O, He touched me, And O, the joy that floods my soul. Something happened, and now I know, He touched me and made me whole. BACK HOME INDEX Holidays NEXT Midi: "He Touched Me" by Bill Gaither This and all my pages designed and best viewed with Internet Explorer.