A priest found a branch of a thorn tree twisted around so that it resembled a crown of thorns. Thinking it a symbol of the crucifixion, he placed it on the altar in his chapel on Good Friday. Early on Easter morning he remembered what he had done. Feeling it was not appropriate for Easter Sunday, he hurried into the church to clear it away before the congregation came. But when he went into the church, he found the thorn branches blossoming with beautiful roses. 

Welcome to this celebration of Easter Day. The thorns of Good Friday have blossomed into the roses of resurrection. Christ the Lord is risen. [Christ is risen indeed!] 

Pastor Cameron S. Smith tells a wonderful story.  It is about the only white person in the state of Georgia buried in a cemetery reserved exclusively for African…