No peace-wreaths in this town!
December 05, 2006, 01:00 PM | Peace and Justice
Back
in the late 1980s, when I lived in Fort Collins,
Colorado, the western mindset of "live
and let live"
prevailed. Folks were conservative, both morally and
politically, but were accommodating of others. I
interpreted this attitude of accommodation as sort of
a "code of the west" that lingered from the gold rush
towns and the spirit of autonomy the cowboys abide
by. But that was two decades ago.
So
the recent news that
a Pagosa Springs neighborhood wants to fine one of
its residence for not removing a Christmas wreath
with a peace symbol in
it runs opposite of what I remember about the
Rocky Mountains. As the story goes, the
Christmas wreath in question is offensive to some
on two levels: it is making a anti-war
statement (and sub-division policy does not allow
any signage with a message) and the peace sign is
a satanic symbol.
Say what?
As weird as that sounds it isn't the first time I've heard such a thing. As a youth leader in the Ephrata Church of the Brethren, we hung a peace sign made of scripture on the youth room wall before traveling out to Colorado for the national youth convention. We had been studying the Sermon on the Mount and other passages in the Bible that call believers to live peaceably. While we out in Colorado, we demonstrated against the use of nuclear weapons at the Rocky Flats Arsenal (which has since shut down and was a major Superfund site). When we got back to our church we caught a lot of grief from a difficult, strident man who attended our church for many years but refused to join. He confused our biblically-based peace witness with the beatnik hippy demonstrations on Washington, DC and their eutopic vision for world peace and free love. He muttered a bunch of negative things at us, even claiming the peace symbol was an upside-down chicken foot and a tool of Satan (an idea supposedly started by John Birch himself during WWII).
Wow.
As a follower of Jesus I cannot remain silent. This uproar over a Christmas wreath is ridiculous in many ways. What is this holiday about? ... CHRIST. PEACE on earth, good will toward humanity. This is what the angels proclaimed about the arrival of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the one who would bring the advent for turning swords into plowshares and Lions laying down with Lambs.
Lately, Christians are pleased to see mega-merchants like WalMart chose to stop saying "Happy Holidays" and start saying "Merry Christmas." Other establishments are joining the effort to put "Christ" back into "Christmas." Considering these vendors stand to make millions of dollars from their sale of goodies this Christmas season, this effort is more a marketing move than one inspired by the Holy Spirit. Why, then would these Pagosa Springs evangelicals want to stamp out a reference to the most common word in the scriptures pertaining to Christ's birth - PEACE!
It is a Christmas wreath for goodness sake! The wreath itself did not originate with Christianity, but faithful believers everywhere use them as table settings for the advent candles. At our church we have a wreath enhancing the advent candles placed on the alter. We hung wreaths on the doors to the church. They make the place looked pretty and feel special, in a Christ-mas way, not a satanic way. So, what is so wrong with this couple in Pagosa Springs combining two symbols to remind us that Christ is the Prince of Peace?
It all has to do with symbolism. I suspect had this couple simply hung a wreath next to a sign that said "Peace" , nothing would have been said. I bet they could have got away with placing a white dove on the wreath too. I didn't get the impression the peace-wreath creators were trying to be obnoxious, but maybe they were hoping to stir up controversy (as opposed to peaceably witnessing).
The Prophet Jeremiah writes of a time when there is a cry of " ... Peace, peace," when there is no peace." In a time of conflict for us both inwardly and around the world, may God lead us to a place of true wholeness and shalom.
Say what?
As weird as that sounds it isn't the first time I've heard such a thing. As a youth leader in the Ephrata Church of the Brethren, we hung a peace sign made of scripture on the youth room wall before traveling out to Colorado for the national youth convention. We had been studying the Sermon on the Mount and other passages in the Bible that call believers to live peaceably. While we out in Colorado, we demonstrated against the use of nuclear weapons at the Rocky Flats Arsenal (which has since shut down and was a major Superfund site). When we got back to our church we caught a lot of grief from a difficult, strident man who attended our church for many years but refused to join. He confused our biblically-based peace witness with the beatnik hippy demonstrations on Washington, DC and their eutopic vision for world peace and free love. He muttered a bunch of negative things at us, even claiming the peace symbol was an upside-down chicken foot and a tool of Satan (an idea supposedly started by John Birch himself during WWII).
Wow.
As a follower of Jesus I cannot remain silent. This uproar over a Christmas wreath is ridiculous in many ways. What is this holiday about? ... CHRIST. PEACE on earth, good will toward humanity. This is what the angels proclaimed about the arrival of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, the one who would bring the advent for turning swords into plowshares and Lions laying down with Lambs.
Lately, Christians are pleased to see mega-merchants like WalMart chose to stop saying "Happy Holidays" and start saying "Merry Christmas." Other establishments are joining the effort to put "Christ" back into "Christmas." Considering these vendors stand to make millions of dollars from their sale of goodies this Christmas season, this effort is more a marketing move than one inspired by the Holy Spirit. Why, then would these Pagosa Springs evangelicals want to stamp out a reference to the most common word in the scriptures pertaining to Christ's birth - PEACE!
It is a Christmas wreath for goodness sake! The wreath itself did not originate with Christianity, but faithful believers everywhere use them as table settings for the advent candles. At our church we have a wreath enhancing the advent candles placed on the alter. We hung wreaths on the doors to the church. They make the place looked pretty and feel special, in a Christ-mas way, not a satanic way. So, what is so wrong with this couple in Pagosa Springs combining two symbols to remind us that Christ is the Prince of Peace?
It all has to do with symbolism. I suspect had this couple simply hung a wreath next to a sign that said "Peace" , nothing would have been said. I bet they could have got away with placing a white dove on the wreath too. I didn't get the impression the peace-wreath creators were trying to be obnoxious, but maybe they were hoping to stir up controversy (as opposed to peaceably witnessing).
The Prophet Jeremiah writes of a time when there is a cry of " ... Peace, peace," when there is no peace." In a time of conflict for us both inwardly and around the world, may God lead us to a place of true wholeness and shalom.
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