SYMBOLISM
A personal view by Michael
Bennett
A
symbol is an object, action
or form conveying to the mind some idea, simple or complex not essentially
involved in it, but imposed on it by custom or authority.
Some years ago I visited Durham Cathedral after an absence of some twenty
years. Going in I was
immediately struck by the sight of two large candle stands with lighted candles
on each side of the nave.
These are a feature of many Anglican Churches today though they have
always been a feature of Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
People, who may not feel particularly religious and are not committed
members of the Church, nevertheless feel meaning in lighting a candle to
remember a person or a situation. They
may not feel able to say a prayer but their action articulates their
feelings.
When Princess Diana died I can remember many people laying flowers in
Wrexham Parish Church, or just coming in to be quiet before they went for a
night at the nearby clubs. These
often were people who one would in no way describe as regular worshippers in any
church.
Therefore I believe that through symbolism the Church can reach those
outside. Before the invention
of writing, symbols furnished primitive society with a useful system of sign
language. Among civilised
communities symbols are used to impress the
imagination with the dignity of monarchy,
the law, parliament for example, and the doctrines of the Church and the
function of Christian Ministry.
All fully developed religions have had recourse to symbols for the
expression of religious and ethical ideas and of this the religion of ancient
Israel is a notable example. Every
detail in the elaborate adornment of the Temple had symbolic significance.
There have been times in Christian history when symbolism has bee looked
on with suspicion in that it has been seen by the Puritan elements in the Church
as leading to idolatry.
I feel the acid test here is to ask the question, “Is the symbolism
likely to promote right thinking and right living?” If it is, let it
be retained, if not let it be abolished.
This was the question the Anglican Church faced at the reformation and
has many times since.
Jesus told the Samaritan woman that. “God is Spirit and those who
worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.“ For the Samaritans Mount
Gerizim was their sanctuary, for the Jews it was the Temple.
But Jesus talks of a time when the place won’t matter, true religion
will be a matter of the heart. (John
4:19-24)
All Christians go in for symbolism.
A plain evangelical church may have no crosses, statues or candles but
the plain communion table makes a statement about their theological standpoint.
The Eucharist is a memorial
meal which Jesus commands us to eat in memory of Him.
The bread and the wine are symbolic of His body and blood and the service
is conducted with the simplicity of the last supper in the upper room. Many people are happy with that form of symbolism and
simple ritual, for ritual it still is.
It used to be said at college that the Anglo-Catholics added as much as
they could to the Eucharist - that was their ritual. The Evangelicals were said to be just as
ritualistic in what they sought to leave out.
Whatever our position, we have our symbols, and if they lead us to the
Lord then I believe that they are valid.
When praying with people for healing or deliverance I find symbols
helpful. I have no problem
with a crucifix because it reminds me of the fact that Jesus won the great
victory over the power of Satan at Calvary.
A victory which I share and I am reminded how Jesus suffered so much for
me to take away my sin and the sins of the world.
Holy water is a cleansing and it reminds me of the waters of baptism and
the water from the side of Jesus at the crucifixion. Holy oil represented the Holy Spirit’s anointing for
healing and empowerment.
In private prayer I burn incense to remind me that my prayers join with
the prayers of the Saints to be a sweet smelling savour to the Lord.
I do not believe that the Saints live in idyllic idleness in Heaven.
They pray for us. When you go into hospital you ask the people in church
(the saints on earth) to pray for you.
So is it so wrong to ask the Saints in Heaven to pray for you?
I see Saints as Intercessors.
I am very conscious at the shrine of Pennant Melangell that St. Melangell
is still praying for us, 1500 years
after her death. Many people who would not call themselves Christians
feel that they are in a very special place.
Some years ago in Walsingham I was praying in the slipper chapel in the
Roman Catholic shrine. Before
me was the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, Mary holding the infant Jesus.
I prayed that I would know from the Lord where Mary stood in the scheme
of things. I felt the Lord
say that in spite of all the religious arguments and rituals it was all
very simple.
He said, “I love my Mum and I want you to love her too.”
As Adrian Plass has said, “The Protestant Church has thrown out too many
healthy babies in its panic-stricken fear of being polluted by dirty bath water.
We have suffered loss and deprivation as a result.
Negative knee-jerk responses to Mary the Mother of Jesus, have left us
with an impoverished appreciation of the female elements of divinity and an
unattractive, disrespectful attitude to a very special and heroic lady.”
(Foreword to Requiem Healing by Michael Mitton and Russ Parker.)
To me, praying the rosary, far from being vain repetition is a spiritual
discipline, meditating on what God has done for us in Jesus and through the
intercession of
His holy mother.
Of course there are dangers
of an unbalanced theology but this can be just as true of Evangelicals
as well as Catholics. Some
Catholics place too much emphasis
on Mary and the Saints, some evangelicals place too much emphasis on the second
coming.
One of the great joys of the Renewal Movement is seeing an appreciation by
Christians of different traditions of each other’s spirituality.
I am an evangelical in
that I respect the word of God and acknowledge Jesus as my own personal Saviour.
I am catholic in that I regard sacramental worship and symbolism as very
important. To me ritual, holy
pictures, statues and holy water are aids to worship.
A statue or a holy picture is not a graven image as it represents a holy
person from Heaven not some demon from
Hell as the pagan deities were.
One of the greatest symbols in my life is to bathe in the waters of
Lourdes. It is a symbol of
baptism, a washing clean from defilement.
Other people feel the same about bathing in the Jordan. We all have different symbols.
What they are doesn’t matter as long as they are godly symbols and lead
us into a deeper relationship with Him.