Last night was a cold Friday night. Chicagoland won the snow lottery and we ended up with about a foot in our neck of the woods. After a busy day, preparing for and executing 3 Good Friday services at my campus, Heidi and I found ourselves in front of a roaring fire as the day came to a close.
During each service, I invited anyone who wanted to participate, to write down their sin(s) on a piece of paper and then nail them to large beams of wood on either side of the auditorium. After everyone had a chance to do so, the beams were assembled to make a cross, which was carried to the front and raised in silence. It was powerful... huge cross standing tall and bold at the front of the room, holding the written confessions of hundreds of people.
As the Campus Pastor, it was my honor to take home each of those slips of paper and dispose of them forever. Without reading any of them (but knowing each slip contained the source of guilt and shame for a person) I put handful after handful of the "sins" into the fireplace.
It was a hot fire. It was a large fire. It was a grace-filled fire. My fire only got rid of the paper. Christ on the cross got rid of the sin.
All in all...a great Friday to remember.
Peace,
Matt
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