05/23/2023
Discarded…
We have many testimonies of how God has been with us as we have transitioned into our new gathering place. One such story involves this cross. It seems fitting that we discuss the cross as our nation prepares to remember and honor the military men and women who have died in service to our great nation. Memorials are important as they cause us to stop and remember. The cross is a memorial. When we see a cross we pause to remember God’s great love for mankind. A love demonstrated by Jesus (John 3:16-17).
So what about this cross? This cross came from St. Mary’s Catholic Chapel. The chapel was located along the eastern shores of Lake Bomoseen. During it’s heyday, St. Mary’s would hold six masses, full of visitors and locals, every Sunday. Times changed, St. Mary’s closed and was sold. In recent years, the building has undergone significant renovations. It was during these renovations that the cross that sat atop St. Mary’s was removed and discarded into a dumpster. It was deemed irrelevant and unnecessary. It was cast to the side to make way for the new. The story of this cross reminds me of how many view the Church today. They have determined it to be irrelevant and unnecessary and have discarded it.
However, the story of the cross does not end in a dumpster. A member of Abundant Life drove by that little chapel one day and noticed the cross was gone. She stopped and inquired of it’s fate. The construction workers noted that they had just discarded it into the dumpster and offered to climb in and retrieve it. Today that cross sits above the door through which we exit. It certainly serves as a memorial to remind us of God’s great love for mankind, demonstrated by Jesus upon a cross some 2000 years ago. Additionally, it reminds us that God takes those deemed irrelevant and unnecessary. He takes those who have been discarded, those whose better days seem long gone and He does something beautiful with them. Jesus spent much of his time upon the earth with those in the margins; those deemed broken and beyond repair. To these He offered God’s love and the truth of God’s Word. To those who accepted His truth and love, He brought restoration, lifting the discarded from the depths of despair.
We invite you to join us Sunday Mornings at 10:30a. As you exit the building, take a moment to look upon the cross. Remind yourself of His love. Remember, to the discarded He offers new life!
