John the Baptist - crazy dude?

At connecT we are having a 2 month advent. We thought it would be good to stay a little longer with the advent themes. One character who will be stretching our thought is John the Baptist. Now what can I say, one crazy dude (cf. Matt 3: 4) I have always imagined he looked a bit like Charles Manson with out the 'dark side'. But honestly, can we handle prophets like John? How many prophets have we really met, do they sit in our churches and sing quaint hymns and take their turn on the morning tea roster? How do we make sense of John - a crazy dude with something to say?

'You brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?' (Matt 3: 7)

Ruth - and the moral of the story is?

It seems to me that there is a bit of a punch line to the story of Ruth in chapter 4, when we are told that Ruth gives birth to Obed, the grand-father of David. Is that the only reason Ruth is in the Bible? A bit of a prequel to the real story - David. But so much is lost isn't there to that simple masculine focus. I love the relationship between the women - Naomi, Orpah and Ruth (1:14); Orpah departed with a kiss but Ruth clung to Naomi. Naomi cares for her daughter in law like her own child and then nurses the infant Obed. The women of the neighbourhood join in giving the name to the child. A model of community, I think. A feminine gift to a masculine world.

Chris

Ruth and our own stories.

At connecT we are looking at the story of Ruth. It is a simple sad but happy story. Ruth loses husband, follows Naomi, her mother in law to Naomi's country, finds a man and marries and lives happily ever after. Well that's the abridged version, any way. But what interests me is how God moves in the lives of simple and un-spectacular people. So often we think that God only chooses the heroes but in the lives of these two women we find God at work through the pain & loss, plans & plotting, encounters & commitments. It reminds me that God is involved at the grass roots of our lives. A reminder to me to take notice and see where God is involved in the contours of my mundane existence.

Where does God show up in your journey?

Chris

Papa is a Mama - The Shack

One of the most contentious issues raised by the book, the Shack, is the way we image God. Some say it can't be done and, indeed, shouldn't be done. Others, and I think I would be one of them, would argue that the only way we can talk about God is in human language. Language is symbol and in talking about God, at all, we are already in the realm of image making. Others, take language literally, and when we talk of the first person of the Trinity as Father then we are saying that he is male. The book 'The Shack' doesn't take that line. The Father (Papa), as the story goes, is 'imaged' as an African-American woman. Hence, the controversy - not male, not white!

I would hold with the 'apophatic' tradition that God is mystery and that when we speak of Father, Son & Holy Spirit we are moving in the realm of symbol and analogy. Feminine images, therefore, are perfectly acceptable for God. Male & female, together, image God (Gen 1:27).

Is 'The Shack' right? Am I right?

Chris

P.S. Part 2 of 'The Shack', this Sunday night @ 5.30pm - God and suffering.

Back to Church Sunday - last grasp @ christendom?

It was great to see some new people @ connecT exploring God with us. We hope you enjoyed what we are trying to do. Thanks to all the team!

But, was back to church Sunday a good thing? Was it a last grasp @ christendom? I'm mulling that one over a bit. It could have been, depends on how it was handled. We tried to be open, invitational & hospitable. We tried not to push church rules, regulations and 'religion'. We tried to speak about Jesus and do so in a way that made sense to the culture. We tried...

How did it go for you?

Chris

Back to Church Sunday

At connecT, this Sunday, 13 September 5.30pm, we are keeping 'Back to Church Sunday'. The idea is to come back to church if you haven't been for a while or come for the first time if you have never been. We will keep it in the connecT flavour - informal, relevant, faithful; and followed by a meal. Hope you can make it. connecT meets @ St. Jude's Anglican Church, 444 Brighton Rd, Brighton, South Australia each Sunday @ 5.30pm.

Chris

Life in parables

Now, what was that all about? So someone asked after I was trying to say something profound about parables. Er...what I was trying to say was that parables are best left a little open ended. A parable, like the 'good Samaritan', says something about the way we experience the reign of God and how we respond to it. Indeed, that parable finishes with a call to be like the 'good Samaritan'.

But, I no longer hold that a parable should only have one meaning as, seemed to be, suggested in some books and articles I read in the past. A parable - left open - invites us into the story. Who am I really - the priest, the levite, the victim or the good Samaritan or even just the inn keeper?

Parables get us involved and in turn help us to see that our lives can be parabolic -earthly, incarnational stories that speak of the surprising God among us.

Chris

P.S. Don't forget connecT looks at 'the Shack' (previous post)