CANNON FIRE

 


The cannon fire woke me up You seem to sleep through anything!  The sound of the first explosion was so intense and impressive!


These old cannons protected the city from pirates and invaders of other nations. Tonight the deep boom as they are fired fills the night . Boom after boom. It lasts ten minutes and it is too dark to see if they accidentally hit anything. There are multiple sirens. No smoke or flames visible. The time is one minute after midnight.

Then the church bells begin ringing. This is an announcement. This is how Easter begins. Wake up everyone, Christ has risen!


Wouldn’t you love to have a big old cannon in your front yard that you could fire next year to announce the arrival of Easter? The start of a new family tradition with the honor of lighting the fuse going to the oldest member of the family. ( That means I get to light it.) 


That cannon would come in handy for other celebrations . I have a dear friend who lives in Silver City, Nevada. A community settled by hippies who decided to live there when their van broke down. Now they are all old guys with guns. Their loyalty and friendships run deep in the community. They have established a tradition to honor the departed. When someone passes the guys gather on the top of a nearby hill, each one bringing their gun. They place the ashes of the departed in the barrel of the old cannon that sits on top of that hill. They light the fuse and  send him on his journey. Then the guys fire their guns in a final salute. If my friend passes before I do, I hope to join the group in honor of him. 


At home Easter is celebrated in gentler ways. We honor Christ, who defeated death and rescued us from our sins. He made it possible for us to come directly to Him to confess and receive His forgiveness. This new life because of Him gives us hope and freedom from fear. It is personal, powerful and permanent. Doesn’t it make you want to buy a cannon and fire it?


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