What do you do when your Jesus statue gets hit by lightning and burns to the ground? That's the situation facing Solid Rock church in Monroe, Ohio, located along I 75. Many of us have seen this massive 62 feet tall figure with arms outstretched to the sky. It's one of the landmarks of southwest Ohio and a number of people see it everyday during their drive between Dayton and Cincinnati.
While I was living in the Dayton area, a number of electronic images of the statue were forwarded in e-mails putting the statue in a less than favorable light. The outstretched arms of the Jesus statue has led some to superimpose a foam "we're #1" sign on the one hand of Jesus with a can of beer clutched in the palm of the other hand. Inappropriate? Yes. But that's the risk of symbols. Things happen, like lightening, and people can twist things, like the foam #1 sign.
Symbols are an important part of our faith. They point us to a greater reality. A cross on an altar. A picture of Jesus on a living room wall. A six story statue of the Son of God emerging from a pond. A bouquet of flowers on an alter reminding us of a loved one. My mom still has an electric candle in the window of her house reminding her of dad who passed away several years ago.
But sometimes symbols can only take us so far. Sometimes, God shows up directly and because we are so caught up in the symbol, we can easily miss the real presence of Christ.
During the life and ministry of Jesus in 1st century Palestine, the Jewish people had a powerful symbol - the Temple. They believed that the Temple was a place where heaven and earth overlapped. One of the reasons that Jesus was sentenced to death to die on a cross was because he had pointed out on several occasions that the Temple would one day be destroyed. Jesus was showing that he was the true Temple, the place where heaven and earth meet.
People were so accustomed to the symbol of the Temple, that many didn't recognize the presence of God right in front of them.
Symbols. The pros and the cons.
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