Laying down my burden

A few days ago I reached the high point of the Camino both literally and spiritually. I rose at 5.30am and left my albergue at 5.50 to begin the ascent to Cruz de Ferro with the aim of being there for sunrise, around 8.15am.  The first part of the walk was by starlight. In an area free of light pollution, I could easily make out the constellations and the Milky Way.  It was awesome and reminded me of the hymn, ‘How great thou art’.  After a short stop for coffee and tortilla, I continued my journey and reached my  first objective of the day just as day was dawning.

Cruz de Ferro is a small iron cross on top of a long wooden pole. It’s origins are steeped in mystery. The most interesting legend is that St James, whose Camino it is, was on mission in this part of Spain. He came across an altar being used in a pagan ritual of human sacrifice. In righteous anger, James grabbed a small stone from his pack and threw it at the altar, which shattered into a thousand pieces. James erected a large cross in its place in honour of the power of the almighty God.

Whatever you think of that story, Cruz de Ferro is a special place. It has become a custom to bring a small stone from home and to lay it down at the foot of the cross, as a sign that you are laying down a burden.  For many people, including me, it was an emotional thing to lay down our stones. There were hugs and tears, smiles and embraces as people shared in this cathartic experience.

Of course, we don’t have to go to a specific place to lay down burdens.  We can come to the foot of the cross wherever, whenever, however we are.  I was reminded of the words of Psalm 55v22: ‘Cast your burden on the Lord and he shall sustain you’.  1 Peter 5v7 is also helpful: ‘Cast all your anxiety on him for he cares for you.’

Having laid my stone and spent a few moments by Cruz de Ferro, I crossed the road, found a gap in the trees and marvelled at the spectacular sunrise. It was a reminder that the Lord does care for me, and a day that will live long in the memory.

Seasons of the Cross

It's been a while since my last blog. To be honest, life has been a little busy and I haven't quite got into blogging with the regularity of some.

This time, I thought that a photo blog might suffice. These photographs were taken by the side of Durham Cathedral in April of this year. The first one I took was the cross against the beautiful sunset. From there, I hit on the idea of going back at different times during my week in the city, and trying to retake the photograph from the same vantage point. These are the result.

I used these images in a sermon exploring different seasons of life. There are times when life is just beautiful - this is represented by the sunset sky. At these times, it is often easy to believe in God. Then there are the everyday times, represented by the blue sky (OK, that's a stretch with British weather!), stormy times and dark times. On the night time photo, the cross did not show up at all until I applied some enhancement with the aid of iPhoto. The point, in case you are wondering, is that Christ of the cross is always there, whatever your life is like at that time.

These images were helpful to many in my congregation. I hope they are to you, too.