The Blossoming Weed

Poinsettias get a bad rap.... alot like pitbulls. Poinsettias are not toxic...or at least not as deadly toxic as rumor has it. They have some sort of substance that is irritating to skin, but you won't likely die from munching on their leaves. (Not that I would recommend it.)

I had been curious how Poinsettias had come to symbolize Christmas. I love origins, tracing words, customs, creation back as far as we can and trying to understand the source from which we sprang....or sprung. (?)  The poinsettia, which grows wild in Mexico, became associated with Christmas in the 16th century. The legend says a poor child, too impoverished to buy a gift for the baby Jesus celebration in her church was told to gather weeds from the roadside to place as altar decoration. The weeds blossomed into vibrant red and the beautiful Poinsettia has graced church altars and homes at Xmas time ever since. There are a few problems with this story though. The red leaves are not "blossoms", they are leaves. The blossoms are actually the more subtle little yellow centers.

The more obvious problem is that who in their right mind would tell a child, "Go gather some dusty old weeds from the roadside to celebrate the most profound event of all time."?  It smacks of urban legend from the get go, doesn't it? But we all love those kinds of stories, where out of nothing, wondrous things are produced. The rags to riches stories of the world. And the Poinsettia abounds in those images- it must have darkness for extended periods or the beautiful red leaves will not develop. The most dramatic of plants, it begins life as a green weed.

I think we all yearn for those kinds of stories because at their heart, they reflect the one story that trumps all the others. The one story that matters most.  A little baby that was lucky not to have frozen to death was born to poor, humble parents amid great scandal in a no-nothing town. Completely surprising everyone, He grew to change the course of History. He, like the Poinsettia, grew to manhood in the dark and obscure corner of the world to suddenly spring forth as the light of the world. Rather than red blossoms or even leaves adorning His magnificence, He wore a crown of thorns and drops of red blood that were shed for me...for you.... for all of us.

I like the transforming nature of the Poinsettia. It gives me hope. I am usually more like a weed, and I don't love those periods of darkness in my life. But the lesson of the Poinsettia is the lesson of Jesus. Out of the darkness, God made a Light to guide us - and when we walk in the Light, we enter the presence of blossoming Glory.

Deuteronomy 5:23
²³ When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders came to me. ²⁴ And you said, “The LORD our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.

Isaiah 42:16
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.