A timely comment reported at a trauma counselling session I attended yesterday (but please call your own counsellor first, I am not now an expert) was this: nothing is normal in Christchurch anymore.
It was timely because last night I began a teaching series on the Book of Revelation last night at St Christopher's Avonhead. One difficulty in reading Revelation is that very little of what we read is normal measured against most of the rest of the Bible: weird visions, coded language, strange figures of speech, unusual imagery including Christ being the Lamb most of the time.
But perhaps that is the relevance of Revelation: when nothing around us is normal anymore then this abnormal book is the one to guide us forward into God's future!
Apocalyptic literature is very difficult to come to grips with - in terms of the here and now of daily ministry. I suppose that in a time of earthquake, tsunami and threatened nuclear melt-down, this subject might bring a few more agnostics into the Church, but i find the gospels much more inspirational - especially during the Lenten Season, leading up to the great Paschal Feast of Easter.
ReplyDeleteHope the course goes well, Peter.
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeleteKnow this isn't relevant to this post but didn't know how to contact you directly. Feel free not to publish comment under this thread.
Diocese of Sydney have released an updated version of Lord's Supper in Human Hands, including new information about Appellate Tribunal decision re diaconal and lay presidency.
Don't really want to re-start a bun fight about this issue, but the document release should at least be noted.
http://www.australianchurchrecord.net/ACR035-LordsSupperResponse-WEB.pdf
Andrew
Thanks Andrew
ReplyDeleteI will look into the link.
(Emailing me is relatively easy to work out: emails to Theology House end in "theologyhouse.ac.nz" and my title, "director" goes before the "@").
"Diocese of Sydney have released an updated version of Lord's Supper in Human Hands, including new information about Appellate Tribunal decision re diaconal and lay presidency." - Andrew Reid -
ReplyDeleteNot too surprising. The Archbishop of Sydney is very keen to institute his favourite stalking horse re Lay-Presidency at the Eucharist. This should put him offside with his own GAFCON mates (at least in ACNA) as well as the rest of the Communion.
Let's hope the Australian Province rules him out of order!