Here's the picture:
Vultures on a cross. Wow. As a preacher, I can tell you that the thoughts that stream from a viewing of that picture will preach!
Just showing that picture on a screen to a group of folks gathered for a discussion or for a worship service could get some lively conversation going.
When I first viewed "Vultures on a Cross," I thought back to a blog entry by Rachel Held Evans (rachelheldevans.com). Here is some of that blog-entry. (Take another look at the picture and, if this applies, think of the times and churches you have been a part of or visited where what "they said" sounded like some kind of death sentence for the kind of faith you were experiencing.)
They said that if I questioned a 6,000-year-old earth, I would question whether other parts of Scripture should be read scientifically and historically.
They were right. I did.
They said that if I entertained the hope that those without access to the gospel might still be loved and saved by God, I would fall prey to the dangerous idea that God loves everyone, that there is nothing God won’t do to reconcile all things to Himself.
They were right. I have.
They said that if I looked for Jesus beyond the party line, I could end up voting for liberals.
They were right. I do (sometimes).
They said that if I listened to my gay and lesbian neighbors, if I made room for them in my church and in my life, I could let grace get out of hand.
They were right. It has.
They told me that this slippery slope would lead me away from God, that it would bring a swift end to my faith journey, that I’d be lost forever.
But with that one, they were wrong.
Yes, the slippery slope brought doubts. Yes, the slippery slope brought change. Yes, the slippery slope brought danger and risk and unknowns. I am indeed more exposed to the elements out here, and at times it is hard to find my footing...
It was easier before, when the path was wide and straight.
But, truth be told, I was faking it. I was pretending that things that didn’t make sense made sense, that things that didn’t feel right felt right...
Now, every day is a risk...
And they were right. All it took was a question or two to bring me here.
That's what Rachel Held Evans had to say. I don't know if she has ever seen "Vultures on a Cross," but that picture and her words remind me that way too often, and in way too many places, what "they say" is a real buzz-kill.
Too bad about that. Hope your faith is full of questions, and risks. (Maybe that's what is meant by: "Ask...and it will be given; Seek...and you will find; knock...and it will open up for you." ...I took some translation liberty with the last part of that three-part formula.)
