Trampling on symbols
Fr Tobias of In a Godward direction dwells on the idea of how (and, indeed, whether) mistreating a symbol equates to mistreating the thing symbolised. The trigger for this is the recent outcry over the cartoons of Mohammed – for symbols of the prophet are forbidden in Islam.
Tobias suggests that being too concerned for images is itself the problem, and quotes a very moving passage from the novel Silence (_Chinmoku_) by Shusaku Endo. In this passage, a priest in Japan has to choose between the torture and execution of his flock, and trampling on an image of Christ to show that he has forsaken his faith and hence losing his authority and place.
The priest raises his foot. In it he feels a dull, heavy pain. This is no mere formality. He will now trample on what he has considered the most beautiful thing in his life, on what he has believed most pure, on what is filled with the ideals and dreams of man. How his foot aches! And then the Christ in bronze speaks to the priest: “Trample! Trample! I more than anyone know of the pain in your foot. Trample! It was to be trampled only by men that I was born into this world. It was to share men’s pain that I carried my cross.”
Symbols carry powerful meanings – but they are not always the meanings that we think of.
pax et bonum
Follow comments using Co.mments.com
Add to your del.icio.us bookmarks
