I had the privilege of spending the last few days at the inaugural MissioAlliance gathering in Washington DC. This event was sponsored by multiple groups, but the idea was birthed out of the Ecclesia Network. One compelling conversation was led by Tory Baucum, rector at the Truto Anglican Church in northern Virginia.
Baucum's talk was framed by the overall them of humanity, and he was answering the question, "What is the role of humans in the Kingdom of God?" His answer was simple, "to be in intimate relationship with God," as evidenced by the use of the wedding metaphor of Jesus and his bride (us, the church).
Not exactly rocket science.
But as Baucum began to do a broad survey of John's gospel, his insights were incredibly compelling, and I want to share them with my readers. The following comments are summaries of Baucum's thoughts.
* The Bible begins and ends the same way - a wedding in a garden (Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21).
* From John's gospel:
- John 1:27 - John the Baptist says he's not worthy to untie his sandals; this is a reference to the kinsmen redeemer of Leviticus 25 and Ruth 1-4
- John 2:1-12 - Jesus' first miracle was at a wedding
- John 3:29 - John the Baptist refers to Jesus as the groom and the people as his bride
- John 4:1-30 - Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well
- wells were often backdrops for weddings
- Jesus asked the woman about her previous husbands
- Jesus mentioned six men in her life - he would be the seventh (look up the role of the number 7 in the Bible
- John 16:21 - Jesus uses the metaphor of birth for the restoration of the Kingdom of God
- John 20:15 - at the tomb, Mary thought Jesus was the gardener
A sad/joyful aside, Brennan Manning, one of my spiritual mentors (through his writings), died this week. One of his resounding life themes was God's messy and always-pursuing love for us. As you reflect on this, enjoy a video of Manning's thoughts on God's love.
What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment