Disclaimer ~ this post is meant to share a bit of humor from our week and not be taken as irreverent in any way, shape or form.
As we were driving into Anchorage the other day, P started staring at a car ahead of us. He seemed a bit puzzled and finally commented to me that this particular vehicle must have a rather strange driver as they had a large cross strapped on it.
I looked where he was gesturing and sure enough it looked like someone was barreling down the highway with a large cross affixed to their vehicle. Not only that, but it looked like they had the corpus strapped on as well.
He started going on about how unsafe it was to drive around with a large object strapped onto the vehicle. I couldn’t disagree as images of what could happen if it came flying off at high speeds jumped into my mind.
My thoughts began to consider that while some people show their faith through the wearing of sacramentals or religious jewelry, this really took things to an extreme. What could inspire someone to do something like this was beyond me.
As we approached the city limits, we got closer to the vehicle in question. This proximity gave us a much better view of what was attached to the car.
We’d seen a bike with some handle bar coverings which at an odd angle had resembled a crucifix.
I wish we’d had a camera handy for P to grab shots when we thought what we’d seen was a crucifix and then later when it’s true identity was revealed.
This left us wondering why we thought we’d seen a crucifix. I know that our brains are wired to see faces in things where no face might exist (or so say the experts when someone claims to see the face of Christ in a piece of wood or some other common item.) But, why would we jump to the conclusion that an item affixed to a vehicle would be a cross? Were we becoming so entrenched in Lent that images of Christ crucified are top of mind?
Aside from the chuckle we had both during and after seeing this image for what it really was, I think it also showed that our eyes can deceive us. Those quick, first glances may not always be showing the truth. Only later, may the truth be exposed.
As I drove home that afternoon, I chuckled at the thought of how people would probably react if someone did drive around town with a crucifix on their car. Talk about an interesting way to evangelize!
This post is being contributed to Issue 9 of The Christian Home, hosted by Mrs. White at The Legacy of Home.
