The Cross – Mr G's Ponderings

The Dog-Wood Rose. Photo by Gill Henwood.

“The hedgerows are arching with dog rose blooms, buzzing with bees and heralding summer.”

My friend Gill has sent me this photo of a dog-rose growing in the Lakeland hedgerow near her home. It is a sign that summer is bursting forth in our part of the world, even though June rain storms try to tell us otherwise!
The dog-rose is perfect for pollinators such as bees and later in autumn, as its blooms are transformed into rose-hips, it is a source of food for birds.

The legend that gave it its name is attributed to ancient times. It is suggested that the Roman naturalist, Pliny, encouraged a belief that the plant’s roots could cure the bite of a mad dog. Hence its botanical name is ‘Rosa Canina’. The plant was popular for treating bites from rabid dogs in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.
Another view is that the name is related to the hooked prickles of the plant which have a look of dog’s teeth. It’s thorny, unruly stems make it an ideal hedge plant, giving it a density which allows it to do it’s job of protection.
It may, of course, simply mean wild rose, of which there are several species, to differentiate it from cultivated and posher roses! Maybe that could remind us that wild beauty is a God-given pointer that Nature has its own way of painting our world with a rare and joyous beauty.

This can be related to some of the meanings of the dog-rose.
One such meaning is that of ‘Purity’, especially in a religious and spiritual sense.
It is also known for its ‘resilience’ in that, whilst having delicate flowers, it can withstand harsh conditions.
In affairs of the heart the Dog-Rose has been linked with ‘love and beauty’, in many cultures and mythologies. In Victorian times the flowers were given as a sign of affection which, if returned, suggested an interest in marriage. You can always trust the Victorians to find ways of expressing sentimentality.

Though there is no specific reference to the Dog-Rose in the Bible, it has been linked with the Rose of Sharon In the Song of Solomon 2:1, we read : I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys.
Links have also been drawn with Isaiah 11: I – a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse and from his roots a bud shall blossom, which has been interpreted as a reference to Jesus.
There is no real link with the Dog-Rose in either passages and the Rose of Sharon is usually taken to refer to the plant, Hibiscus Synacus.

However, in one symbolic meaning of the plant, there is a direct link with Jesus Christ. The Dog-Rose is strongly associated with Rebirth-and Resurrection. This is partly because of its association with love and purity but it is also linked with a legend about the Crucifixion of Jesus.
In this legend there is a suggestion that the tree was once very large and the wood was strong. It was thus able to be used in Crucifixion.
According to the story it was the dogwood tree that was used to make the Cross on which Jesus was crucified. Because of this, it is said that God both cursed and blessed it.
It was destined to be forever small so that it could never grow strong and tall again and be used as a cross for crucifixion. Also, its branches would be crooked and twisted which would make it useless for such a purpose.
Then God also blessed it. It would produced beautiful flowers each Spring, white or pink, as a sign of Easter glory. God also made its petals in the shape of the Cross, each flower having four such petals. In the centre was a crown of gold.

Like all legends there are things that could be disputed but, legends are never made-up stories nor fanciful thoughts. They always contain a truth which, whilst sometimes clothed in mystery, leads us into a deeper understanding. God is always bigger than the words and thoughts we have of him and we would be wise to see His signs and hear His language in Nature and in the Cosmos and also in our hearts where God’s Spirit constantly dwells. So the lovely Dog-Rose has much to teach us and we who seek God’s truth have always more to learn.

In this spirit, I print below an anonymous version of the Legend.
Make of it what you will but don’t just dismiss it for it may be that otherwise you will, to quote the poet Frances Thompson, you may miss the many splendid thing.

In Jesus’ time, the dogwood grew
To a stately size and a lovely hue.
‘Twas strong and firm, its branches interwoven.
For the cross of Christ its timbers were chosen.
Seeing the distress at this use of their wood
Christ made a promise which still holds good:
“Never again shall the dogwood grow
Large enough to be used so.
Slender and twisted, it shall be
With blossoms like the cross for all to see.
As blood stains the petals marked in brown,
The blossom’s centre wears a thorny crown.
All who see it will remember Me
Crucified on a cross from the dogwood tree.
Cherished and protected, this tree shall be
A reminder to all of My agony.

[Anonymous]

Mr. G. 6th June 2025

My friend, Joyce, has sent me this photo of two companionable swans, making gentle progress in the canal waters. They are contendedly together as love flows between them. The Caption from St Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians is well known but perhaps less pondered because of that.
Joyce says that :
In these dark times, these words of love bring light and hope.
That light and hope comes to us through God.

During Lent we Christians are invited by God to understand more deeply that the Victory of Christ on the cross is really life-changing and that this change comes about not because of something we do but of realizing that God has done, and goes on doing, something so powerful in our lives through Christ on the Cross.
He has loved us totally and completely and through that Love he has drawn us into himself so that, as Paul tells the Galatians (2:20)

It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.

In order to die to self and live for, and in, Christ we are, says Jesus, to take up our Cross and follow him.
He is not asking for heroics. He is not asking us to search for some impossible burden to carry, some suffering to undergo.
He is asking us to commit ourselves to carry the sign of God’s love in our lives. It is the power of that love to transform that makes the real difference
For that to happen, the Love of Christ must rule our hearts, our lives – come what may.

Many years ago, a young Russian priest was imprisoned at the beginning of the Russian Revolution.
Years later he was released from prison. He was a broken man.
His friends asked him, “What is left of you?”
“Nothing” he replied, “nothing is left. They have burnt out everything. Only love remains.”

That priest had discovered the one thing that changes every human situation and disarms every human conflict – sacrificial love.
Only Love remains – that is what is necessary for Christ to change the world – and he does it through us. When we abide in God’s love, totally, then, as we walk around the area where we live, it will become a changed and different place. Our approach to others will be different, generous, kind and joyful.

The darkness of our present situation in the world can easily lead to despair and a sense of futility but we are called to be, increasingly, signs of God’s amazing, long suffering and transforming love. We are called, in fact, to carry that love into all the world’s dark places and into hearts that have turned away from love.
On the Cross the victory of Jesus was the triumph of love over all that is not love. It was a cosmic battle to proclaim God’s power over demonic and destructive forces which threaten to swamp the world with evil, hatred, self absorbtion and oppression.
Against this darkness and evil we are to love and go on loving for, as the great mystic, St John of the Cross, put it so powerfully:

“Where there is no love, pour love in, and you will draw love out.”

[Mr G]

Cartoon by Charlie Mackesy who speaks profoundly through humour

Thank you Joyce for your inspirational photo & text