Sermon — A Christmas Rose

“…the desert shall rejoice, and blossom like the rose;…your God will come and save you.

            (selected; Isaiah 35:1-4)

Among all the beautiful flowers around the world that God has created by His marvelous mind, the rose is the one flower that seems to excel all others in beauty and fragrance. The slogan of FTD is “Say it with Flowers”, and nothing says it better than roses. 

      The poet Christina Rosetti gave us these beautiful words concerning the rose:

      “Hope is like a harebell trembling from its birth,

        Love is like a rose - the joy of all the earth.

        Faith is like a lily lifted high and white,

        Love is like a lovely rose – the world’s delight.

        Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth,

        But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.”

While poets use the music of their language to speak of flowers and truth, flowers use the sweetness of their scent and the delicacy of their beauty to magnify the truth.  There is no flower that can be compared to the rose for speaking the truth and reality of Christ coming to this world for it is the chief of all flowers in its beauty and fragrance. Christ is the Father’s best, lovely in every respect. The language of the rose speaks of the truth and the beauty of Christ as He is referred to as the “Rose of Sharon” in the Song of Solomon 2:1.

The poetry of Robert Burns gave to us his well-known line: “O my love is like a red, red rose that’s newly sprung in June.” For us, our love, our Christ is like a red, red rose fresh upon the winter snow. He came as a complete surprise, a total wonder, a joy and a sign of hope. His beauty surpasses all others and our hearts are drawn to Him in a newfound love. 

He is the message of Christmas. Hope can rise out of faith and faith can rise out of love. What wonderous love is the love of Christ! Out of our limitations and weaknesses and sin, hope can be born in every heart because Christ came to all. The plains of Sharon were graced with wild roses that were plentiful and available to all who desired. Jesus is compared to those roses in that He was not locked in a private garden for the admiration of a few but He is available to all and that many may come and gather the rose buds of His grace.

God’s love is also like a red, red rose. It is a miracle which has flourished in the winter of our discontent. We can speak long and eloquent things about spiritual illness and emotional concerns, about broken relationships and social issues. But at the core, at the root of our problems is our sin. Sin creates a distance from God; a separation from our Creator that destroys the richness of life. But the holy solution which came required that the great drops of our Savior’s precious blood should fall like red petals from above to cover the earth with its crimson tide of grace. 

And with indulgence for meaning, we change the final line of Rosetti’s poem to read: “But the rose with all it’s (crown of) thorns excels them (all)” The ransom for our soul was paid in red blood there on the cross and the prophetic words of Isaiah ultimately direct our waiting hearts into a new understanding that “the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the rose;” … “Your God will come and save you”

Merry Christmas – San Luis Valley!               

Chester Jones     

Calvary Bible Chapel