After the Cross Came the Funeral

Anyone who has ever attended a Christian conference is probably familiar with that moment when you are invited to leave things behind at the cross. Somewhere in the room stands a wooden cross where you can attach notes, place them underneath, or leave them in some other way. It symbolizes the things you are desperately holding on to, or the things you find difficult to surrender to God. By writing them down and literally leaving them at the cross, you connect your desire to let go with a tangible act. That makes it easier to truly leave them there.

But what happens to those notes afterward?

During the Aufatmen retreat, we had such a moment as well. Whatever was preventing you from trusting God could be laid down at the cross. A basket stood at the foot of the cross for that purpose.

But after the gathering, the basket was still there, while everyone seemed relieved that they had finally left those burdens behind. So, what do we do with the notes in that basket?

You could throw them in the recycling bin. They would continue traveling until they eventually ended up at a recycling plant, where they would be turned into cardboard or paper.
Hmm… that would almost give them a second life. No, that won’t do. Gone should mean gone.

Burn them?
Not a bad option, but it really doesn’t last long enough. Those burdens have made life miserable for so long, and although burning is painful and leaves nothing behind, it all happens too quickly.

So instead, we held a funeral.
Everyone who wanted to join gathered as we placed the notes into a grave. Then, as a symbol, each person threw a handful of soil over the notes.