Inadvertent Signals

It is fascinating to me the subtle signs (and oft-times not so subtle) people carry, signals about feelings, principles, beliefs.  It may be a bumper sticker, a pin, and here in my case a T-shirt.  And we often send those signals with greater volume and visibility when the stakes are high and the pressure on.  When the going gets rough, our signals can shine brighter, and often without even realizing it, signals find kindred spirits – we then no longer alone in our struggle.

This realization came to me unexpectedly last weekend. A large group – organizations sacred and secular, individuals, and, of late, teens from the metro DC area –  pickets monthly in front of the NRA on the 14^th of every month, the day on which 20 children and six adult staff were murdered in Newtown, Ct.  Sadly, the plethora of signs didn’t reference Newtown alone, as, there were signs lamenting shooting deaths in Orlando, Columbine, Parkland, San Bernardino, and, and…

I wore our newly-minted LFA T-shirt, one side, “Lewinsville Faith in Action”, and the other that wonderful quote from the prophet Micah: “And what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.”  I was trying to do “justice” on the picket line.

I forgot I was wearing the shirt when shopping after the protest at the local Giant, thus flashing an inadvertent sign to which two people at the deli counter responded: “Micah: That’s my favorite quote!  Thanks for wearing it.”  And, “I love that T-shirt.  Where’s your faith community?”

I had completely forgotten that at the dawn of the Christian era, wary converts would not proclaim their faith for fear of reprisal – usually certain death.  Thus while sitting by a well, or perhaps in a bar, the early Christians would with seeming randomness, lazily sketch a fish, the Christian sign of affiliation.  A fish? 

The Greek word for fish is Ichthys.  Parse the letters:

I, Iasus (Jesus)

Ch, Christos (Christ)

Theou, of God

Yiou, the son

Soter, savior.

A simple fish that anyone could draw captured the essence of this new movement.

The last thing I intended to do today was proselytize. I sought neither an increase in church membership nor religious converts. I intended to proclaim the faith community’s commitment to social justice, in this case advocating for changes in the nation’s obscene and fawning commitment to protection of the NRA, a commitment that annually sentences thousands of Americans to death by guns.

But when shopping, I forgot to take off my sweaty “signal,” thus inadvertently, “sketching” the sign to which two people waiting in line at the deli counter responded.

And so in a small corner of the world at a deli counter, my unintentional signal flashed to then invisible brethren, finding community, making me feel less isolated in this struggle, renewed by the power of an accidental semaphore.