We Put Up A Cross

Although allegory (1) is a universal part of our life it is continuously overlooked. There are “signs” everywhere. In people’s behavior, on the airwaves, even across the skies the future is being written as we speak. Usually not in single words but in strings of symbols woven together into great tapestries of allegory etched on our daily lives.

As Christians go I am not high on the piety scale. But I have held on to a belief and faith that has come to me through long years of independent study, self examination, and struggle rather than family heritage. I was raised in the company of atheists and agnostics who might have had other decent attributes but faith was not one of them.

My early days were filled with self-doubt combined with thrashing about trying to find a rock to hang onto in the stormy seas of life. I was stubbornly determined to find answers: to disassemble culture and see how everything works. But when push gets to shove here in the rocky earth of the Ozarks it was the simple acts of faith displayed by others which got them through the most awful tragedies finally convinced me that over analyzing God’s plan was fruitless.

Before my eldest cousin died a few years ago I had the pleasure of sharing a little time with him. He had spent his life with family and raising prize work horses to sell to Amish and Mennonite farmers who paid top dollar for his animals.

My diminutive 80+ year old cousin George asked me if I went to church. I said, “Not too much”. He then asked me, “Well, do you believe in Jesus Christ with all your heart?” Surprising myself I replied, “Yes I do.” George’s eyes twinkled a bit and he replied in his brief but definitive style, “That’s the main thing.” I will never forget it.

Our Western culture is in deep trouble today. The signs of that are everywhere. I need not elucidate the problems because my readers already know this. Events form a great allegorical story of decline that can be seen in the headlines.

Religious leaders like Pope Benedict XVI are being vilified by the dominant media and this heralds a new crescendo of hubris by the materialist elites. Except for pliable left-wing toadies Protestant leaders are marginalized and told by the chattering heads to speak only of “peace” and “reconciliation” and “multi-culturalism” and “collectivism”or they will be attacked as well.

Father Gabriele Amorth the Vatican’s chief exorcist has gone public with his analysis that Satanic forces are acting within Christendom while other demons are attacking the Judeo-Christian world from the dominant materialist culture. Allegory abounds; there are signs and symbols everywhere.

Recently in a Washington DC newspaper, columnist Jeffrey Kuhner wrote an Op-Ed piece called “Christophobia”  which outlines the political dimension to this situation. In allegory the symbols do their work as they cascade down through our culture; old mythologies are challenged while new ones struggle for supremacy. Politics, allegory, and culture, become more closely aligned in times of stress.

I have never been much for overt symbols of faith and piety. Yet when confronted with the violence of the materialist left I am moved to public action. My wife and I decided the first thing we could do is display a Cross.

Yes, the simple act of putting up a Cross in our front yard. I had an old stand cemented in the ground that held a birdfeeder and stood about 6 feet tall. To that I welded a standard with an ornate Cross complete with fleur-de-lis finials so that the whole installation stands about 10 feet tall. Very visible to our busy road and neighbors it is located unmistakably in the face of the dominant materialists.

It is a simple act that anyone can do. In the window, on your vehicle, in your yard, on the roof, anywhere is good. Show the Cross just as you would show the Flag; allegories of goodness, faith, and opposition.

(1) a story or description that symbolizes a deeper meaning.