Evan Peters said in part:
I’m sure many share this perspective but specifically in recent years I have become fascinated with the examples of new life springing from death that I see all over creation (dirt is essentially a bunch of dead stuff, and from it comes nearly everything we need to live). These help remind me of my place in the world, both as someone growing out of things past (ie. people, ideas that have gone before me) and as someone who will contribute to lives to come, but most importantly as a child of God whose life is centered on Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Kris MacQueen said:
Evan, I LOVE the dirt metaphor. We are growing out of raw, organic material that is left behind by those who have gone before.
I feel like the soil of our present culture is in pretty bad shape. Many of the nutrients have been taken out of the earth, and like the physical world we live in, there's a whole lot of synthetic materials trying to make up the balance, but with disastrous consequences. Part of the "good news" that the gospel has only recently become to me is that there is rich, well tended soil that we can root ourselves in. As a people with very little sense of history, the rich (though occasionally soiled and tarnished) legacy of the Church fills the void left by our sometimes plastic, synthetic culture.
I feel like the soil of our present culture is in pretty bad shape. Many of the nutrients have been taken out of the earth, and like the physical world we live in, there's a whole lot of synthetic materials trying to make up the balance, but with disastrous consequences. Part of the "good news" that the gospel has only recently become to me is that there is rich, well tended soil that we can root ourselves in. As a people with very little sense of history, the rich (though occasionally soiled and tarnished) legacy of the Church fills the void left by our sometimes plastic, synthetic culture.
I replied:
Deep connections with the past are wonderful But remember our Lord Himself made deep connections with His past. Son of David according to the flesh. Ancient of days according to the Spirit.
He choose to reveal Himself in a powerful historical context with a rich full spiritual vocabulary already in place. And He choose to reveal Himself through out history to individuals in key places. People like Moses who wore the veil, David who made the Psalms and so on.
And further more, this history is not over. I read in the prophesy of Revelation that there are two women in the future story. A whore of great wealth and power who is thrown down, and a bride of Messiah who is lifted up. We get to decide which woman we are part of.
The Bible is full of the story of Jesus acting through out history. It is indeed HIS story. And the future holds HER story. I cannot read my favorite prophet, Jeremiah and not see that word, read about Moses and the veil, read about the bride of Messiah, without realizing that it is the same story. And it all started in the garden when God looked at Adam alone and said 'it is not good'. Of course it is not good! HIS story is incomplete without HER story.
And as for plastic synthetic culture, I have to both agree and plead guilty. For those who don't know me I am the VFX pipeline architect for a movie special effects company. And there is nothing quite so synthetic and plastic as CGI movies. Building the technology that makes that stuff possible is what I am doing for a living at the moment. Chatting with Kris this morning after worship we both expressed our individual desire to turn more of our talents to making things for the Kingdom of God.
I would far sooner put my energy into worship in the desert with even just a small chance to inspire God's people than to make another Dragonball. You will see that movie come out in a month or so. Technically it is amazing stuff. Spiritually, well not so good. The problem is we cannot build a successful movie company around the next Narnia. And actually even movies like that are awarded by bids and contracts with a lot of studios competing. So in the end the worship expression in my desert might have to stick with music, which I love. And possibly some live action movies.
Just in closing, there is a name for the people of Israel that the rabbis gave them. It was a derogatory put down similar to the original meaning of Christian, which meant 'little Christs' (Andy preached on it this morning, wow connections). The term for a Jew living in the land is Am Ha Aretz. But today to be an Am Ha Aretz in Israel is a good thing. This term has been turned around as well. Now it means someone who sticks to it, who does not leave. No hardship can drive them out. Am Ha Aretz literally means dirt people.
He choose to reveal Himself in a powerful historical context with a rich full spiritual vocabulary already in place. And He choose to reveal Himself through out history to individuals in key places. People like Moses who wore the veil, David who made the Psalms and so on.
And further more, this history is not over. I read in the prophesy of Revelation that there are two women in the future story. A whore of great wealth and power who is thrown down, and a bride of Messiah who is lifted up. We get to decide which woman we are part of.
The Bible is full of the story of Jesus acting through out history. It is indeed HIS story. And the future holds HER story. I cannot read my favorite prophet, Jeremiah and not see that word, read about Moses and the veil, read about the bride of Messiah, without realizing that it is the same story. And it all started in the garden when God looked at Adam alone and said 'it is not good'. Of course it is not good! HIS story is incomplete without HER story.
And as for plastic synthetic culture, I have to both agree and plead guilty. For those who don't know me I am the VFX pipeline architect for a movie special effects company. And there is nothing quite so synthetic and plastic as CGI movies. Building the technology that makes that stuff possible is what I am doing for a living at the moment. Chatting with Kris this morning after worship we both expressed our individual desire to turn more of our talents to making things for the Kingdom of God.
I would far sooner put my energy into worship in the desert with even just a small chance to inspire God's people than to make another Dragonball. You will see that movie come out in a month or so. Technically it is amazing stuff. Spiritually, well not so good. The problem is we cannot build a successful movie company around the next Narnia. And actually even movies like that are awarded by bids and contracts with a lot of studios competing. So in the end the worship expression in my desert might have to stick with music, which I love. And possibly some live action movies.
Just in closing, there is a name for the people of Israel that the rabbis gave them. It was a derogatory put down similar to the original meaning of Christian, which meant 'little Christs' (Andy preached on it this morning, wow connections). The term for a Jew living in the land is Am Ha Aretz. But today to be an Am Ha Aretz in Israel is a good thing. This term has been turned around as well. Now it means someone who sticks to it, who does not leave. No hardship can drive them out. Am Ha Aretz literally means dirt people.
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