Words Through Images

I believe adamantly in preaching and teaching, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” (Romans 10:14). We are called by our Hod and Savior to make disicples (), to teach people the evangelion and help them in their faith walk. All that being said, there is a time  to let images speak. In an age when vitriol and hyperbola is preventable in the news cycle and readers find themselves exasperated by cut throat articles, it can be centering to stare at Christ Crucified, a Crucifix. To remember that as Jesus died for our sins the crowds were mocking him and slinging their zingers. That it was also a age of unbridled intolerance and hate; and that God stepped into it and let His hands and feet be nailed to a cross for our sakes. 

Sometimes the noise of this world drowns our besieged souls. The sniping and the endless arguments drown us and many go running to theaters or to rituals to seek solace. I propose that we as Christians find an image, it can be digital or physical that pertains to our faith. It could be the Lord’s Supper, a Crucifix, or a simple cross and while staring at these images let them talk to us and breath deeply and be calm. Let the sermons pause on the radio or tv, turn off K-love, and hymns and spend some time in the quiet reflection of sacred images. Let the art act as different kind of sermon, one where your thoughts and heart are the hands and ears. While everyone goes to do Yoga or Zumba, choose instead an image of Christ or a art from Scripture, it can be Medieval or Modern, and ponder it as you listen to your heart beat. Don’t empty your mind, on the contrary let your mind ponder and mediate (think on) what is before you and let it tell you something and if anything at all give you a moment of peace with candles lit and the Crucifix in front of you. 

We are bombarded by images on our smartphones, internet, and in shops. We rarely get to choose what to fixate on unless we search for it and so seek s image of Christ or His cross or a scene He was in and let it be part of a non spoken sermon to you: a time to reflect, think, pray, and listen to the Lord’s voice. We are by design pictorial brings, hence why films, video games, and art sells so well. Why not use this inclination in the positive? We are willing to binge watch mov My pictures in our favorite shows and go to an art gallery or play a game, or stare at our phones incessantly. Why not carve out time to do the same with art depicting our Lord and Savior and spend some time pondering and examining the art piece. It may be uncomfortable at first, we now being so used to noise and movement and words being spoken. It could be unsettling, but it could also be rewarding. Rarely can we face what we bury in the noise and busyness until we “be still and know that you are God.” (Psalm 46:10). There looking at the sacred art and letting words audible be silent and only letting them roam in our minds, hearts and from heaven’s seat. Amen.