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Powerful symbols

April 20, 2008  - ian

Recently Johan Teterisa,  who waved a Maluku flag in front of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, was found guilty of treason and has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Soon after, Jakarta Post newspaper readers were asked to comment on the sentence and many who responded called for an increased punishment, to give him the death sentence. Execution simply because he waved a flag??!!

The penalty of life imprisonment seems harsh to me but it does show that even a piece of coloured cloth is a powerful symbol. Flags are powerful symbols because they symbolise a Nation. They stir up pride, or discontent. When flags are burnt, torn down, or jumped on, these are powerful images of people’s feelings not to the piece of cloth, but the nation it symbolises. The power of the symbol is in that which it represents.

There are many powerful symbols that we see around us. Some invoke people to loyalty; the crescent moon of Islam, some invoke a sense of hatred; the Nazi Swastika, some invoke fear; a nuclear mushroom cloud, some invoke a sense of ‘I will ignore that’; traffic signs in Jakarta. What other symbols can you think of?

Some symbols are powerful but because we see them all the time, they seem less powerful – such as numbers and even the letters you have just read are symbols.

The sign of the cross is a symbol, a powerful symbol for us as Christians but a weak symbol for others. The cross is often understood a symbol of foolishness; how can a dead man 2000 years ago save the world? Where is the power and wisdom in that? But for us who follow Jesus, the cross effectively reminds us of the death of Jesus our saviour, an empty cross without Jesus symbolises the resurrection. The cross reminds us of the love of God and of the judgement of God. The cross reminds us that sin matters to God and that the matter of sin has been dealt with, by God, for us. The cross of Christ is the symbol of God’s power and his wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

Remember though that the actual cross itself is only symbol of the reality of Jesus - the God/human. He is the one who is the power and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24) – worship him not the metal or wooden cross itself. What does the Cross symbolise for you?

Ian

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