Standing nearly 100 feet tall and with a wingspan of over 90 feet, the statue of Christ the Redeemer overwhelms the skyline of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From the shores of Ipanema to the football stadiums that dot the landscape, Jesus is both protector of the beach beauties and mascot for the soccer teams. Such a huge concrete example of the redeemer should never be taken for granite. Given its defensive position on top of one of the city’s highest mountains, this is one magnificent monument that will resist being toppled any time soon, lest it fall on its assailants. Putting Jesus on such a pedestal runs counter to almost everything he taught us about living with each other. However, many a missionary would beg to differ because their motto and mission was to conquer the world for the Church and/or whatever empire might be landing on these shores to enslave the natives, for Christ’s sake.
Another formidable figure is the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, which was dedicated in 1886. Two important symbols capture her message. A broken chain and shackles lie at her feet as she walks forward, commemorating the recent abolition of slavery. After its dedication, the statue became an icon of freedom lifting her lamp beside the golden door and welcoming immigrants arriving by sea, those “huddled masses yearning to breathe…” This certainly was appropriate at this time when most of our population was composed of immigrants from so many different nations. If her beauty lies in the eyes of her beholders, she’d bring tears to freshly freed slaves and new immigrants seeking their liberty and pursuit of happiness on these welcoming shores. This is who we are as a nation, then and now.
In the beholding eyes of a preschool boy in Richmond, Virginia, the venerable vestige of Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue was different from that of his father’s. Their Sunday morning ritual for a long time was to have breakfast at a nearby restaurant and walk over to see the monument of Lee astride his faithful horse, Traveller. The time came for them to move from the former Capital of the Confederacy, so they went to behold the monument for the last time. As they were walking back home, the child asked his father a very poignant question: “Dad, we’ve come here every Sunday morning to pay tribute to this famous hero, but you have never told me who that was riding Robert E. Lee.” By the way, Lee was not a fan of statues honoring Civil War generals, fearing they might, in his words, “keep open the sores of war.”
Perhaps the most complicated predicament is in Arkansas which finds itself between a rock and a hard place with the law of the land and the law of God. You’ve heard about the Ten Commandments Statue on the grounds of the state Capitol. Several years back, they arrested a fellow for pushing the first granite monument to the ground and breaking all the commandments in one fell swoop. The newly minted stone engraved in the original King James English [another idol of sorts] is being challenged in court this month. On one hand, the Constitution forbids a religious statue on state property, and God’s law says you shouldn’t have graven images anyway [commandment #2]. Surely, some slick politicians can figure out how to bear just enough false witness [commandment #8] to get this problem solved once and for all without losing their heads like Denis, patron saint of Paris. Bless his heart.
