Thursday, June 21, 2007

How about these to stretch your mind and give us a different perspective on reality. G. K. Chesterton

"A child kicks its legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, Do it again; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough... It is possible that God says every morning, Do it again, to the sun; and every evening, Do it again, to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike: it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."

“In the upper world, hell once rebelled against heaven. But in this world heaven is rebelling against hell. For the orthodox there can always be a revolution; for a revolution is a restoration” (Orthodoxy, 117).

GRACE HARBOR
Photo taken after worship fall 2006. We are in the old Bennett's Creek Rescue Squad building in Suffolk, Virginia. God has brought together some amazing people; there is brokeness as well, but we're in the process of becoming who we are.
I'm reading Cahill's book: The Desire of the Everlasting Hills ~ The World Before and After Jesus

Cahill writes . . . ‘the radical society of friends, of free and equal men and women, that came forth from the side of the crucified (an earlier reference to the blood and water that poured out of Jesus as the spear went into his side - the blood and water, the Lord's supper and baptism) was quickly overwhelmed by ancient patriarchy and has been overwhelmed in every era since by the social and political forms of the age’ (pg. 303).

I remember Bishop Peter Storey from South Africa speaking to a group about injustice and systemic sin - I believe 'Prophetic Evangelism' was the topic and a pastor questioned how we can take a swing at this injustice and root it out. Bishop Storey said that if there ever was a denomination modeled after coorportate America it is the United Methodist Church, he then motioned to a number of District Superintendents in the room and said, 'My students are afraid of you.' (Bishop Story was a visiting professor at Duke Seminary). He then suggested that we start with our own house.

So much of Jesus' teachings had to do with the use of power: "Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod" (Mark 8:15). Caution against religious and political power. Good grief we need to hear this today.