Subscription Lists
10 Minutes Peace
by Susan McGrath
Every year before Easter Sunday, sometimes only days before, a cloth shroud is draped and a crown of thorns hung on the large wooden cross at the front of our church's auditorium.
It is supposed to be placed there a month or so before Easter, but sometimes, amid busy preparations for the drama or sunrise service, it is forgotten until the last minute.
(And no wonder! The box in which it is stored must first be located in whatever closet we stuffed it into last year. Then someone must iron the yards and yards of fabric in the shroud and carefully place it - with the aid of a long pole - over the wooden cross above the baptistry, being careful not to drop it in!)
Once Easter is over and the focus goes from hymns about the resurrection to this year's Vacation Bible School theme, the shroud and the crown sometimes hang there another few weeks. Ignored by some, forgotten by others, and most likely a challenge for the janitor.
I serve on the worship team, and one year I vowed that the crown and shroud would be put up early and taken down in a timely manner. As I voiced this during our monthly meeting, another team member spoke up and said, "I never get tired of looking at them. I wouldn't mind seeing them up all year long." Another member of our team agreed.
I had never really thought of these homemade items - a simple piece of white cloth banded in purple and a crown made from a wickedly thorny vine - as an actual representation of the risen Christ and His great suffering and sacrifice. To me they had simply been decorations, put up much like a Christmas tree, to set a holiday mood.
Although I have always realized the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection, I had not allowed these symbols to help me further visualize Christ's love.
I had appreciated them, but perhaps not for the right reasons. If they can poignantly touch a mature Christian or intrigue an unbeliever seeking God's love, then they are well worth pondering.
If they can help me imagine more realistically what Christ suffered for my sins, I should be grateful to the person who, years ago, took time to fashion them. And I will thank God more often for helping me find meaning in something I once viewed as an inconvenience.
Rate it:
a recovering journalist trying to encourage others and glorify God through writing;
living the small-town life with husband Tim and sons Lincoln, 12, and Sawyer, 6;
completing a few put-off writing projects while using chocolate for therapy.
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "10 Minutes Peace" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.