Abundance of roses in front of the church
I am not much of a gardener. In fact, the most I can do without upsetting the plants too much is occasionally to push a lawn mower. But I do like roses. My brother in law, who is a farmer, helped 
me to dig a deep trench, put some ‘good soil in’ and plant some roses, and so it is that we have some roses in our back garden. They have just started flowering again and will delight us for most of the rest of the summer. On the front of our house we planted a ‘rambling rector’ which has taken well and rambles all over the front of the house, and once a year, about now, briefly delights us with small white blossoms. Now and again in the middle of winter a single bud and then a blossom appears, and that really warms the heart. Roses are a Christian symbol of love. They radiate beauty, warmth and tenderness. Their colours and fragrances speak of gentleness and passion, their blossoms last longest of all the flowers. The presence of thorns on their stems reminds us of the costliness of love, as well as of its fierceness. Thorns can draw blood, love must be strong, love demands sacrifice. In many old Churches, especially the bigger ones and in cathedrals, we can find so-called “rose windows”. These are large, round and spectacular windows often at the west end, that is: visible to those leaving the church. These ‘rose windows’ consist of many sections (petals) and are often filled with strongly coloured glass. Such a rose window, a huge circle of coloured glass, may stand as a symbol for the church (us, the body of Christ): in one direction open to the world and in the other direction connected with and focused on the centre. At the centre of every ‘rose window’ is a picture of Christ.
Bernhard Schünemann
