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The Book
Monday, December 17, 2007
Next class: Jan 13th, 6:15
Reading: Numbers
Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been quite distracted with preparation for my trip to Canada to spend Christmas with my in-laws. I'll post summaries of the last two classes soon hopefully. In the mean time, please note that the class will be taking a break for the next 3 weeks. May the light that is Christ's coming shine upon you during this blessed season!
-Scott
Monday, December 03, 2007
Next class: Dec 9th, 6:15pm
Reading: Exodus 1-19 (start with Ex 1-4, and 18)
Shifting from the stories of individuals in Genesis, we move into stories of a people being led. The Exodus stories of the Hebrews leaving Egypt is not only a powerful historical event, but also a very personal analogical one as well. We all have our own Exodus story. We've all made a transition from darkness to light. Sometimes these stories are painful, and sometimes they are joyous. As we read the story of the Exodus, let this story speak to your heart and notice when you identify with the various characters of the story. You might be suprised how much in common we have with this group of people that lived thousands of years before us.
In the last class, we recapped the stories of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph. Abraham embodied the transition from living in fear, to living out of love. Jacob embodied a transition from serving one's own will, to seeking God's will. Joseph embodied the act of living and acting out God's will for one's life. These stories build upon each other, as if they were showing us something deeper about the human experience. Then we cheated...
We skipped ahead to the beginning of Matthew 5, the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. Here we explored the Beatitudes as a model for spiritual journeys. For centuries, this wisdom has been explored, and a threefold way has been interpreted from the 9 Beatitudes:
1) Purgation - The purging of one's own ego to make room for God in their heart.
2) Illumination - Learning how to discern God's will for one's life.
3) Unity - The acting out of God's will for one's life.
What Jesus sums up so succinctly and poetically, the ancient Hebrews had used rich stories to convey. Here we see the parallels: Abraham models Purgation, Jacob models Illumination, and Joseph models Unity. This parallel is important because it reinforces that God's underlying message is the same throughout history. Whereas Jesus spoke to a culture heavily influenced by a Greek mindset of philosophy and ideas, the ancient Hebrews were a culture rich in stories of the human experience. The context and delivery for that message changes as our world changes, but the underlying truths are still relevant.
Archive:
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
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