Banners

  "I don't know what it is, but something happens when you wave those banners.", Wanda had said on a phone call before we left for Kenya.  "Please, bring your banners."

I had given them all away.

The night before we left for Kenya, I was standing at my sink.

"What kind of banner am I supposed to make?"

I had not been inspired to make anything in particular, so I had procrastinated.

"WATER." I hear.

"Water?"

"yes, WATER."

Okay.

"and... RESURRECTION."

Okay.

So I made a water banner and a resurrection banner.  

Rolled them up, packed them and wondered who I would give them to.

What exactly is a banner?  An object that fanatical Christians wave to invoke emotion?

Maybe sometimes.  

Why would one chose to make a banner or for that matter, wave one?

Banner, by Webster's definition: a piece of cloth attached by one edge to a staff and used by a leader (as a monarch or feudal lord) as his standard.

Okay, so I am not a leader or a monarch... (although I do have one tattooed on my foot!  ;) )

Banners are not only biblical, but they are also historical.  

Psalm 20:5
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests.

Psalm 60:4
But for those who fear you, you have raised a banner to be unfurled against the bow.

Isaiah 5:26
He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily!

Jeremiah 51:12
Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon! Reinforce the guard, station the watchmen, prepare an ambush! The LORD will carry out his purpose, his decree against the people of Babylon.

And, of course, one of the favorites...

Song of Solomon 2:4
He has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is love.

These references go on and on.  

So, that's biblical.

Where is the historical?

For centuries, banners have been used as a rallying point in battle.  Assyrians, Egyptians, Greek, Romans... they all fought under their respective banners. Even today, the "Colors" are so revered that army battalions consider them a lifelong honor.  Banners were/are used in battle fields and wars, even the Civil War, to identify different camps.  The Japanese used a banner named, Sashimono, to identify themselves in the battle field.  The Sashimono was especially important during the feudal wars in Japan, in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Italians use banners in their annual Palio races to distinguish between different contrades, or districts.  At the end of the race, the victor is awarded a silk banner.

Even as Americans, we wave banners at rock concerts, football games, swim meets.  They identify who we are rooting for.  We even flick a lighter and wave it in the air as a tribute...  Or when there is particular emotion involved in a song.  Is this not a form of banner?  

My question.  If we are in battle, why then can we not wave our banners?  If we are "fanatical", is that not better than being lukewarm?  If we are rooting for OUR team, why then can we not cheer it on?  

What are the things you are passionate about?  Are they important enough to make your heart beat faster? Are they big enough to cry over?  Are they worthy of debate?

Would it be better for me to NOT be strong in my convictions?  Should I be wishy-washy?  

Is waving a banner... weird?  

Perhaps.  

But something happens when one is waved. 

The atmosphere shifts, moves, changes.  

This is true on the battle field.

In the football stadium when the fans are rallying for their team.

When a race is won.

In church.

There is always a change in the atmosphere.

So, that first night in Bissil, Wanda preached.

We went back to our rooms, exhausted and dusty. 

I tried to journal about our experiences that first day.  The dry wells, riverbeds... the Maasai house, the people we had met.  I gave up at about 1am, when the words started to blur on the page.  

Shutting off the light, I climbed into bed, worrying about the message I would deliver the next day.  

The message I didn't have.