by Lon on January 25, 2010
Photo by Diez
Just as God has a clear bias towards the poor, the scriptures also reveal that God’s heart leans towards the city.
From Genesis God calls for humanity to be fruitful and multiply. Not simply to reproduce (otherwise Jesus would’ve done a terrible job with this mandate), but to cultivate life in the widest sense – to create culture, to steward over creation, to develop civilizations, and ultimately cities.
Even the ‘garden of eden’ carries with it the idea of a lush park by a palace. A place dense with life near a kingly residence. Seeds of a future city.
God doesn’t allow his people to remain agrarian, and calls for ‘cities of refuge‘ to be made. Cities with leadership, government, jurisdiction, so that people might find safety and progress could continue without ongoing tribal warfare.
In Jeremiah 29 God calls for his people to seek the good of the city. Not to necessarily conform to the city, or to leech off the city, but to be rooted in the city. We are to be city builders.
The Apostle Paul planted churches from city to city because he knew that if he captured the heart of the city, the gospel would flow out from the city centers into the surrounding regions. It’s interesting to note that it seems the smallest unit of the church was referred to as an entire city – ie. the church of Ephesus, Philipi, etc.
God reveals his ultimate vision for humanity in Revelation as ‘a holy city’ descending from heaven. Pieces of Eden like the tree of life and rivers are still there, but it’s wrapped up in a city filled with life. Heaven’s like an urban jungle.
I’ve always loved this quote by Ray Bakke – “If you don’t like the city, you won’t like heaven”
These are just a few snapshot thoughts that could be unpacked a lot more.
Your thoughts?
by Lon on December 2, 2008
(Image from an actual suburb of Toronto)
One of the primary attributes of the suburbs that comes to my mind, (besides cookie-cutter houses, family idols, commuting, and affluence), is isolation.
It could be densely disconnected like in the image above or even in a tightly secure urban condominium, but isolation is still at the heart of suburbia.
In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells a parable of a rich man and Lazarus. Some interesting things that I think might have some implications for suburban living
Unlike Lazarus the rich man was nameless throughout the story – maybe because he blended in so well?
No one is in hell here due to doctrine or a disagreement regarding belief statements
We spend more on garbage bags than half of the world does on all goods. Lazarus longed for the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Could garbage bags be the modern day crumbs?
The rich man built a ‘gate’ to keep people like Lazarus out. We build fences and zoning laws to distance ourselves from people and problems, and people with problems.
A ‘great chasm’ developed where even those who wanted to cross over to the rich man, could not. Maybe the danger of the suburbs is that as we avoid interruptions of those unlike ourselves more, we become increasingly unable to allow anyone in.
To quote Gladiator, “What we do in this life, echoes into eternity”
Could the gates we build not only lock others out, but also lock us in?
In a great role reversal, the rich man finds himself desperately needing Lazarus in the next life. What would it look like for us to come to terms with actually needing those we try to avoid in this life?
Could it be that we can become so isolated in the suburbs, that we no longer see people, as people? The rich man in the parable repeatedly argues with Lazarus in the third person, telling him what to do, as if he was his slave.
You would think someone tormented in the flames of hell wouldn’t be so verbose.
I wonder if suburbia dehumanizes us? We’re known as one person at work over here, and at school over there, and at the club or the church over there, and we become fragmented. No one fully knows who we are.
Maybe that’s why we in turn treat people as work units, assets, or distractions to avoid?
Isolation and building gates isn’t so hard when you’re not quite as important as I am.
Ordination. I can’t say I think much of it. I’m really not sure how biblical it is either. I do however believe in the affirmation of a community in whatever role you’re in. Of course, then we should be ordaining/commissioning our secretaries, engineers, and school teachers too, and not just church leaders.
Most would agree you’re not suppose to be acting any different after being ordained, like in baptism, it’s an extension of what you’re already doing. But at least Baptism’s in the Scriptures.
I established for myself quite a while back that I couldn’t care less for the title. And these days the idea of ordination further solidifies the divide between clergy and laity that I rail against.
But there is this tiny issue of working within the constructs of the culture we’re in and walking through life with people. Being able to marry and bury people (I’m doing my first wedding in september). Being able to affirm their citizenship and sign their passports. Being able to get into restricted areas of hospitals to visit people.
So I got myself ordained online today just for kicks. I doubt this is in anyway legitimate in Canada. I believe laws are looser in the States.
Does anyone know of any quick and legal way of a seminary grad to get ordained in Canada? Specifically in the province of Ontario? The denominations I’m somewhat affiliated with will all take years.
Here’s my hokey ‘universal life church’ certificate’
It’s Monday morning, do you recall what you heard at church on Sunday?
I’ve been inspired by many great speakers and preachers, but I wonder how often we really engage God through the Scriptures during our church gatherings?
I’m sure I’ve heard Scripture, at least audibly, in every church that I’ve attended, but I wonder how often people truly encounter God through the Scriptures.
From what I can tell of what Scripture says of itself is that it was worth meditating upon day and night. It was often engaged as a community. The Scriptures led to revival and transformation.
Yet I wonder how often ‘preachers’ get in the way of allowing the Scriptures to speak? How often do we deny people the opportunity to wrestle with God’s words personally, for themselves, with one another? How often do we allow people to use their own imagination, to question and doubt, and to emotionally invest themselves into the Story of the Scriptures?
