Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A Burning Cross

A couple of weeks ago we attended an "End of Winter" bonfire celebration.

It was strange to see a huge cross wrapped in dead Christmas trees and surrounded at the foot with bales of hay.  A fire-torch procession came up the hill and surrounded the cross and then they simultaneously lit the bonfire with their torches. It must have taken well over 30 minutes to burn - and it really burned!

It was an eerie feeling standing there watching this giant cross being consumed with flames -  as a follower of Christ, the cross is a symbol of love, grace and hope, and I had to keep reminding myself that this is a cultural thing, not a religious event, that ended a season and was for a blessing on spring harvest.

When the fire was done, and all the dead wood had vanished, the structure of the cross remained undamaged. I was reminded of how in the Old Testament an offering would be made, a sacrifice for sin, and it would be consumed by fire and the sin was forgiven.  As I looked at the cross still standing there, it felt like a picture to me: I watched my sin consumed, forgiven and forgotten.

But the Cross remains. 

It stands eternally as a symbol of his undying love.

4 comments:

  1. I've never looked at the 'Buergbrennen' like that. Thanks for a different perspective.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Alison,
      Thanks for reading. We really enjoyed the evening and learning something new about this culture! It was really different! :)

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