Scars of Sacrilege: A Testament to God’s Grace
A Chaplain’s Reflection on Sacred Spaces
Sometimes scars remain as a testimony to transformed sorrows.
I am a retired Army Chaplain who once served in Heidelberg, Germany. During my time at a NATO facility, I supported the Bosnia War effort alongside other chaplains. We were responsible for conducting religious services on Sundays in several chapels in the area. One Sunday, I led an Anglican service attended by believers and inquirers from various Christian traditions such as Lutheran and Presbyterian. Although I am a Presbyterian minister in the PCA, I was honored to lead the service using the Book of Common Prayer.
Discovering the Sacred Scars
Before beginning the worship service, I arrived early at the beautiful chapel at Nachrichten Kaserne, a WWII German post for journalists and propaganda. I took a moment to kneel and seek God’s guidance. While I was alone in the chapel, deep in meditation, I opened my eyes and looked down at the floor. Despite the wood being refined, I noticed many intense and heavy marks that left a lasting impression on the chapel floor. These darkened indentations could be observed all over the surface. I ran my hand across one of the scars on the hardwood floor and felt the depth of the mark.
A Revelation of History
A local worshipper arrived while I was examining the floor markings. This individual, a German national, was a frequent attendee of Protestant liturgical services. I inquired about the marks all over the chapel’s floor. His response transformed how I worshipped that evening. He recounted that when Dwight D. Eisenhower visited this location, he was horrified to learn that the Nazis had repurposed the chapel’s sacred space to serve as a stable for horses. Despite the desecration, General Eisenhower insisted that the chapel be restored to its original purpose of worshipping God in accordance with the Christian faith. He instructed the Chaplain Corps to renovate the chapel and preserve its sacred scars, including horseshoe marks, as a cherished reminder of God’s grace.
For a theology of sacred assembly in space and time consider my article here:
Worship amid Scars
That Sunday evening, I led worship in one of the most beautiful spaces imaginable. Its beauty was made more profound by the scars of past sacrilege. I preached on this experience, realizing that whatever passage was being expounded in that chapel was always subject to the truth of the Gospel all around us:
“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20 NKJV). “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
The Modern Challenge
Many chapels and sanctuaries are being repurposed for entertainment. The biblical motif of the Christian Shepherd has been supplanted by standup comics or other symbols from the world of entertainment. To understand the success of these innovations, which started in the late 20th century and continue today, one need only look at the present Western culture and the influence of Christianity within it. There may not be an imprint of horseshoes in our churches, but the laboriously intentional effort to be casual and nonchalant—cool if not comedic—has left its mark. We pray that just as Ike arrived and was aghast at the sacrilege at Nachrichten Kaserne, so too the Lord will send a revival that causes us to turn again in reverence and awe to the living God.
A Call to Preserve Holiness
A sacred assembly in a holy space is a testament to God’s preserving power. It was important then and remains essential today, perhaps even more so. Jesus Himself affirmed the sanctity of dedicated places of worship. When He arrived at the Temple, He declared, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13 NKJV).
This serves as a powerful reminder that, even in the New Testament era, the dedication of place and time to God remained vital. Jesus’ actions and words in the Temple underscore the enduring significance of setting apart spaces for divine worship. May we, too, honor and preserve the sanctity of our places of worship, recognizing them as holy ground dedicated to the living God. I believe the presence of holy space amid our communities would be salt and light in an increasingly bland and dark world.
Embracing Our Scars
And all of this serves to remind us that there may be hoof marks on the contours of your soul as there are on mine. Yet God takes our lives, which were created for His glory in the garden, and transforms scarred people to become instruments of His grace. Oftentimes, the hoof marks remain—the memories, the trauma, the broken dreams—but the presence of scars is no longer a sacrilege, but a symbol of salvation.
Thus, the cross.