Grounding Marks
Word from Wiese
21 August 2024
Marks on the ground can be very instructive.
Marks on the ground inform where pickle-ballers are in danger of the “kitchen,” basketballers can shoot for the 3-pointer instead of 2, and receivers must get their toes in for the game winning-catch.
Marks on the ground can tell us where to park or warn us about ticket danger.
Marks on the ground in a fish shape in front of a house was secret code, we’re told, for where Christians gathered for worship when “The Way of Jesus” was forbidden in the first centuries of the Roman Empire.
As we ride high from our first Sunday in our gorgeous new sanctuary, let me share a little background on another design feature (see previous emails about our LED panels, stones of significance, and worship chairs) our leadership team feels is wonderfully compelling: grounding marks. Or, marks on the ground which help “ground” us in identity and faith.
First, some key marks you can no longer see no matter how hard you look. Last spring, after the 38-year-old carpet was removed but before the beautiful new LVP was laid, worshipers after services, musicians after rehearsal, and youth after gatherings came into the sanctuary, picked up thick magic markers, and wrote the promises and prayers of God. Scripture verses. Hymn lyrics. Prayers for what the Holy Spirit would accomplish in the future of this sacred space. The sanctuary floor and chancel are covered with these colorful messages of faith.
Secondly, we treasure the marks that fashion crosses within the floor itself. At both our diagonal entrances, the crosses that greet your entrance are easy to see. But not the other 7. Inspired by a picture in Living Lutheran magazine of a cross fashioned with two tones of LVP, we decided to pepper the crosses where God’s people would actually sit and stand for worship. 2 throughout the musician area and the other 5 on the opposite side of the sanctuary where more worshipers sit.
5 + 2 = 7. Does this equation remind you of a central Jesus-miracle? Yes, when Jesus took 5 loaves and 2 fish, and with his blessing, fed a gathering of thousands. We pray these 5 + 2 crosses remind us that Jesus feeds our weekly gatherings as well, with Meal and Message. The number 7 also reminds us Christ’s cross is not just about Sunday but 7 days a week! While our uplifted eyes focus on the cross above with the altar with vibrant Easter-like colors emanating from it in the stained glass, so these subtle crosses throughout the congregation remind us that dying and new life happen wherever we are as well.
In other words, we come to worship to see the cross, but we simultaneously stand upon Christ’s cross, carry Christ’s cross ourselves, and take it with us wherever we go. As Scripture indicates, we worship Christ; but the Holy Spirit transforms us also into the body of Christ, wherever we go.
In our baptisms, each of us have been marked with the cross of Christ forever. Even if we can’t see those crosses on our foreheads, they are there and identify us as God’s people and purpose. So, too, we pray these subtle crosses positioned throughout the congregation will remind us that Jesus’ purpose is throughout us as well.
Marks in the ground that certainly “mark” and “ground” us!
In Christ’s hope,
P Fritz
“You, child of God, have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ forever. Amen.” Lutheran Rite of Baptism
Questions for Reflection:
- Last Sunday, did you notice the crosses at the entrances? Do you think you can find one of the 5 + 2 crosses throughout the sanctuary?
- What kind of crosses are positioned throughout your house? Why do you wear them or position them the way you do?
- Do you own one of the crosses provided by the COS Cross Ministry Team? Have you ever given one away?
Let us pray:
Heavenly Father, thank you the unbelievable gift and sacrifice of your Son giving his life on the cross and winning deep and eternity-lasting relationships which no force can now separate. May we not take the cross for granted, treating it as a fashion item we wear or a piece of furniture that fades into others. Bless the “grounding marks” of the crosses fashioned into the very foundation of our new sanctuary at COS. May they powerfully remind us that the cross is not just something we observe from afar, but a symbol that marks us, surrounds us, and propels us. May we forever stand upon your victory and take it with us in a sharing spirit wherever we go. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
