Monumental

The peh Factor

“Seeking balance in a polarized world”

I get it. Yes, I do. Symbols are very important. Being a Christian minister the symbols of the cross, baptism and the eucharist are monuments to our faith. The Cross represents a special relationship with God through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He died so that I/we might have eternal life. Protestants different from Catholics view the cross as empty emphasizing the resurrection. Catholics different than Protestants have Jesus still on the tree reminding them of the sacrifice he paid so we could be redeemed.

Baptism is an important symbol as well. It is the symbol of my entrance into the family of God. When done of a baby or child it represents the claim of God upon that child’s life before the child can respond. God chose Abram before he left Ur. God chose the symbol of circumcision on the eighth day long before a baby knew what it meant. God initiated the relationship with humanity because of God’s love. Baptism is that symbol on a child’s life.

For an adult, baptism serves more like a wedding ring. Just as the wedding ring I wear is a symbol from my wife of her love for me, so baptism is a symbol of God’s redemptive love for me. I wear it with humble pride. Humble because I know I do not deserve it. Humble because I know that I can receive it and wear it at the cost of Jesus’ life. Pride because it constantly reminds me of my spiritual family with its hope of eternal destiny. I received both my wedding ring and baptism on the first day of a lifelong journey.

The Lord’s Supper, Communion, the Eucharist is the symbol of the renewal of my commitment to my Lord and Savior. When I receive the body and blood of Christ (I know the theological differences between literalism and symbolism in the event) I am humbly reminding myself of what it cost Jesus so I might have an eternal relationship with God and I am recommitting myself to my walk through life with him.

These symbols are monuments of my spiritual life. Even though there have been many who have abused these monuments over the millennia by using them to enslave people while maintaining their power, the symbols point to something much greater that those abusive people. I can acknowledge the abuse. I can name a sin as sin. I can let go of those abusers and ask God to deal with them in eternity as it says in Romans 12:19:

• 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

Symbols are monumental in America as well. Our flag is one such symbol. Our national anthem is another symbol. The Pledge of Allegiance is yet another symbol. Symbols are important for they abbreviate who we are and what we value.

Another type of symbol are the monuments representing periods of our development as a nation. What we need to remember is that within the cultural context of their day, the individuals being memorialized were doing what they thought was best. The people of the South where slavery was dominant were simply doing what economically the best for their families, their community, and their country. Tragically that decision was on the back (literally) of slaves. Ultimately, as so often happens, they were willing to die for those chosen behaviors and the economy upon which their culture was built.

For years, the symbols of the Confederacy, their flag, their statues, their monuments, were a way of remembering what had been. For some if not many they represented a longing for what they wish had continued. As America has changed those symbols have needed to be changed. Even though they are historic, they represent a separation we had as a nation then and have continued to foster now.

In the midst of Black Lives Matter, these monuments of slaveowners and the racist ideologies they represented and from which they profited are being taken down. Over the past few years there have been attempts to do so in a respectful fashion. When those attempts failed and the current situations arose those monuments are now being removed through violent mob mentality.

With this in mind, I offer an observation, a warning and a few questions:

Observation: The present movement to transform America will most likely create new symbols. I can envision what some of those might be. In our age they will most likely begin as Memes on Twitter or Facebook, etc. As time unfolds, these events may even inspire new monuments. I would not be surprised. Those monuments will represent a great deal to those who are active in the social change we presently are experiencing.

Warning: 100 years from now, when a new generation arises, with different moral standards and different causes, the monuments of today may be torn down with the same disgust and outrage and disdain toward the beliefs of those in our present age. They too will feel justified in their behaviors. They too may feel they are correcting egregious wrongs.

Questions:

• Will the beliefs that seemed so right now be seen differently then?

• Will the good guys of today be the bad guys of tomorrow?

• Is there another way to remember the beliefs of the past in such a way that we can understand the transformation of the present with the hopes for the future?

• Are there no universal truths to which we might cling? Universal truths upon which to build a better tomorrow?

• Are there better forums by which our truths “which are self-evident” might be discussed and implemented?

• What monuments might become the symbols that reflect our greater good?