About this time last year I
sat in St Asaph Cathedral listening to a concert by St Asaph Choral Society. As I sat in the main nave of the Cathedral I
glanced to the South Transept, the small Chapel to my right and something made
me pause. On the small altar in the
South Transept there is a cross and as the sun was setting the light was
reflected behind the cross causing a perfect reflection which surrounded the
cross with light. The setting sun was
shining through a cross shaped window at the far end of the Cathedral and the
light had travelled the whole length of the building to make this perfect
shape. It only lit the background of the cross, not the candles, or the altar,
just the cross. It was more than a trick
of the light, it spoke of the light in the darkness, and struck me very
poignantly particularly as come into the Light of Christ after the dark events
of Holy Week.
The Cross lies at the very
heart of the Christian faith, for without the cross there would be no Easter
Morning, no Resurrection. We can
sometimes take the cross for granted, use it for decoration, make it
presentable with candles and flowers, yet the cross is not an easy object to
gaze upon, but an instrument of pain and torture has become for us a symbol of
love and sacrifice. Many people wear a cross as a necklace or pin-badge, they
may carry a cross in your pocket with the lovely poem, for following Easter
Sunday the cross becomes a symbol of light and hope.
The wonderful hymn When I
Survey the Wondrous Cross was written by Isaac Watts but it is said that
Charles Wesley, the writer of hundreds of our favourite hymns, would gladly have
given all the hymns he had written to have written those wonderful words. The words of the hymn convey all the
sentiments that we could ever wish to convey.
Yet they are not sentimental but challenging. ‘Demands my soul my life my all’ can never
just be sweet and sugary words.
‘Love so amazing, so divine’ Easter
is a joyous time, a time of hope and promise. May the joy of Easter morning and the Light of Christ bring you peace
and joy this Eastertide and always.
