So #LentPhotos today is ‘The Last Supper’ - we clearly need more interpretations, pictures, etc on Seed Resources - my favourite is this Stained Glass window (plenty of colour, although I’m sure there’s more ‘art-things’ I could say about it…
http://www.seedresources.com/view/images/last-supper-window
#BigRead13 Thoughts
Ah… being ‘imprisoned in the mind’… Romans 12:2 obviously sprang to mind as I was preparing today’s reflection (along with Joyce Meyer, though I’ve only ever read one of her books!) - I like the New Living Translation:
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. New Living Translation (©2007)
The extract from The Last Battle may come from the scene where those who believe in Aslan have gone through into the Shed and found themselves in an amazing, fertile land… but those who have been pushed in and don’t believe sit playing games because they think they are restricted by the walls of the shed (all a bit Matrix!). It brings to mind debates about facts/science, etc… I totally see no incompatibility between science/faith, but I have spoken to some who if they can’t engage with it with one of the 5 physical senses, or see proof of it - can’t conceive of it … that seems sad. As Michael Ward said yesterday on the webinar - God is bigger than us, he created us - if we could fully comprehend him then that wouldn’t make sense…. we are finite and he is infinite.
This leads me to a bit of thinking about what does it mean to ‘transform’ - and I like this first definition on Wordnik “To change markedly the appearance or form” … is it noticeable that we are in a relationship with Jesus?
@40Acts
As I’ve been preparing for Spring Harvest over the past few days, along the theme of ‘reconnecting with ‘The Source’ - Jesus & his words, then learning to “be”, then “say”, then “do”, I’m going to emphasise quite heavily the idea that - particularly in the online spaces - it’s about “BEING’ - living the Christian life 24/7 so that people can see… but that does also mean that we need to be prepared for our testimony. I used to give my conversion testimony regularly as an Oak Hall leader, but there are also what’s God doing right here/right now to be aware of… and am I prepared if someone asked me NOW … me being me I’d want to check my notes.
Bekah Legg gives some helpful advice…
- Know the core elements of your story, the important parts - rather than a script
- Be prepared for the ‘movie trailer’ version, and someone wanting more detail
- Don’t slip into Christianese…
- And most importantly - LISTEN - the person sat with you is more important than anything you have to say.
Brian Draper: Lent 40
Carl Jung: “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.â€
I guess this is like ‘actions speak louder than words’, although as Brian says - we are more than our actions.
Archbishop Oscar Romero:
We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realising this.
This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
Can we sum up our Lent journey in 6 words - coming to my mind is “Busy. Stop. Busy. Think. Busy. Be”?
