Statues (fwd)

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I was digging through my old email and dug this up. Enjoy...

Forwarded message:
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 94 12:31:38 CST
Reply-To: higher-fire@prairient.org
Originator: higher-fire@prairient.org
Sender: higher-fire@prairient.org
From: richardm@cd.com (Richard Masoner)
To: Multiple recipients of list <higher-fire@prairient.org>
Subject: Statues
X-Comment:  The Higher Fire list


Situated in the Metroplex in Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth, is
the city of Irving in the northeast corner of  Dallas County.  A
portion of DFW Airport is in Irving, as is Texas Stadium (where the
Dallas Cowboys play); and the University of Dallas.  In the very
northern part of this city is situated the community of Las Colinas,
an enclave of tourist attractions, attractive gardens, decorative
canals, chic boutiques, mirrored office buildings, pricey cafes, and
people who know how to dress and act the part of successful
businessmen and women.  In the middle of affluent Las Colinas is
Williams Square.   This plaza is a haven away from the busy office --
a park shaded by the office buildings that bound it on three sides,
with stone benches, fountains,  potted trees, and a creek that runs
right through the center of the square.  In spite of the signs that
instruct otherwise, children happily splash through the man-made
stream and shallow pools.

Your eyes are drawn to the centerpiece of Williams Square:  the
striking statue of The Mustangs, a bronze work of art depicting a
life-sized herd of wild mustangs hurdling across the stream.  The
untamed horses seem almost alive; one can almost hear their hooves
thundering against the stream bed, the sounds echoing off the canyon
of glass and steel, their breathing as they snort and whinny.  The
artist left no detail untouched -- miniature fountains have even been
installed where the hooves meet the water, showing the stream water
splashing as feet meet the stream bed.  You can see the sinew and
muscles in the horses' flesh, the manes seemingly waving in the wind,
their tails whipping to and fro as they peal across the creek.  It is
a beautiful statue, one that takes your breath away, one that inspires
both adult and child -- this representation of God's handiwork, of the
wonders He has created.

So you begin to imagine -- what if, instead of a canyon of glass and
steel, a ravine of concrete, horses of bronze -- what if you were in
the midst of the post oak prairie that once covered central Texas, a
wall of shale and limestone with shrubs clinging to the sides in a
struggle against erosion, a ravine with a creek flowing from it.
Imagine if this were real.  Imagine drawing water from the creek, then
hearing a rumble.  In the distance, you see a cloud of dust, dark
shapes approaching.  You feel the ground begin to reverberate under
the power of two dozen mustangs galloping toward the ravine, toward
your creek, toward you.  The horses run across then along the creek,
muddying the water, uprooting plants and clumps of prairie grass.  You
see the sweat on their dark coats, their manes wet and matted against
their necks.  You see the wild, yet somehow intelligent, look in their
eyes as they roar past, the ground vibrating beneath you.  You watch
with awe as these beasts run on, around a bend in the ravine, and
they're gone.

Religion is like The Mustangs statue.  It may seem so real, so
life-like, so much like what God is.  We might feel something, an
inspiration, something beautiful.  Religions around the world have
their rituals and practices that evoke a sense of awe -- the soulful
chanting of monks, candles and incense, prayer beads, prayer wheels,
church bells, beautiful paintings, stained glass.  Even in the United
Pentecostal Church we have our "religious" practices, the statues of
bronze: our dress, our appearance, our prayers and fasting, tithing.
One thing we must remember, though, is Jesus Christ in all this, who
gives us, through faith, the power to become sons of God.  We cannot
have just a form of godliness, but we must remember and rely on the
power of God in our lives.  The presence of God is much more than a
spine-tingling sensation after an exceptionally anointed performance
by a singer you particularly like; the presence of God is the
ever-present abiding Spirit of Jesus Christ that dwells in your heart
seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day.

Jewish rabbinical tradition says the Hebrews created the golden calf
because they thought Jehovah's envoy, Moses, had perished on the
mountain, so they created another representative to God.  We need to
remember that Jesus Christ is our representative, the mediator, the
only way to God, rather than depending on our actions and deeds to get
us to God.  Any righteousness that we might have comes from God and
God alone.  Let us remember the reality of Jesus Christ behind
everything we do, and use the faith God gives us to do so.

[Copyright 1994 Richard F. Masoner. All Rights Reserved]