A Subtle Beauty

When I walk the halls of the Legion of Honor, I pause in the sculpture hall at Rodin's The Prodigal Son, I am almost brought to tears at the emotion behind this haunting piece. It screams repentance, anguish, pain, submission. I go to the story that Jesus told and how it represents all of us at some point coming to the place of repentance and returning to God. What Rodin does in this sculpture is encapsulate all of the emotion in one piece of bronze. It is a thing of beauty and wonder. All throughout the museum are pieces of beauty, of talent and skill pointing us to the divine, or at least to the appreciation of life and love.

But lately I am more interested in more subtle beauty, the beauty that we find in the everyday things, that if we are not paying attention, we miss. I love the city of San Francisco. It is a wonder. One of the most wonderful things about it is the natural beauty around us. But I also am amazed at the buildings that we see every day. The building that we worship in St. John's, the building next door, Temple El Emanuel, Grace Cathedral, St. Mary's, are easy places to find beauty. But what about Lincoln Square, or the De Young Building? These are amazing buildings built to serve the city and those who work in them, they are meant to be beautiful on the outside as well as functional on the inside. This Saturday we will spend time looking at buildings in the city. We will spend time with architect Albert Costa at the Museum of Modern Art's Sculpture Garden, a great place to view the buildings of our city. I am looking forward to learning more about what goes into making something so big and so beautiful. Email me if you want to come.

As we prepare for Sunday, I am wondering how do you contribute to the beauty in the world around you? How do you spend your day? Do you design algorithms for investors, market buildings for sale, sell products for a manufacturer, or serve people in some way or fashion? Do you approach what you do with reverence and awe, as someone who is looking to do something beautiful for their fellow human being and for God? Do you treat people as works of beauty, as God's greatest creative act. Do you approach all that you do as a sacrifice to God, holy and pleasing to Him?

Take some time and look around, what do you see?

Peace

Edwin

We Really Do Need Each Other…Really

We have been discussing how God speaks to His creation through many different avenues other than The Word. Last week we looked at literature and explored, City Lights Bookstore in North Beach. It was very interesting and revealing. As we look forward to Sunday another area for discussion is relationships, very different than literature, movies and other media, but for me very enlightening.

I was in high school when I came to the realization that I wanted to follow Jesus. One of the first areas of growth for me was in the area of relationships. My English teacher told us to read a poem and write an essay on it. The Poem: "No Man is an Island," by John Donne influenced Hemmingway's: For Whom the Bell Tolls and Poe's "The Bells", as well as Simon and Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock." Here it is:

No Man is an Island

No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

 

I can remember writing the essay and my newfound passion for God being the main thought, that I was created to be in fellowship with God my creator. This is still what I believe, but what is also an important part of my understanding of the universe is that we were also created to be in fellowship with one another. Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment was/is to love God and love thy neighbor. Many argue (and I agree) that these two commands are really one command, with two aspects or three for that matter: love God, self, neighbor. By this commandment, Jesus clarifies that we are to be in relationship with one another.

Yet, the reality is that we are not very good at loving one another. We say that it is a priority but when it comes down to it, we are much better at fighting each other than loving each other. But what Donne is communicating in this amazing poem, and St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12 and Ephesians 2, and Jesus taught in John's Gospel chapter 15 is that we are designed to love one another and can't survive in this world alone.

This is most evident when we are not surrounded by distractions and parasites that keep us from what is most important. When we no longer have material things that we live to buy or maintain, then we realize what is most important is our connection to one another. Luke and Courtney Burton see this everyday in their ministry to street and traveling kids in the Haight. As part of Inner-Changes Outer Circle, they interact with young people who have no material possessions, and because of this, they order their lives around relationships that they make on the street.

Some of us will be going with Luke and Courtney Saturday to witness this firsthand. The rest of us can spend some time asking the question: Do I need others? Can others count on me? Am I a good friend? Do I have any friends? These are important questions because if we are not in the right relationship with others, then we are not in the right relationship with God. 1 John 2:9-10.

Jesus gave us a hint as to one of the most effective tools that we have to make witness to the world:

34 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

                            John 13:34-35 NIV

In Love

Edwin

Ears to Hear and Eyes to See

We had a great vacation in Florida. The thing about Florida in the summer time is that it is wet. You are either sweating because it is so hot and humid or you are being rained on. A thundershower in central Florida is nothing to fool with and if you are smart, you will pay attention to what is going on around you. On a Sunday while we were there, a man was struck by lightning while playing soccer after church. He died, a tragedy that is common enough in this part of the country. The last time we were in Florida, we had a boat and were out on Tampa Bay for a day of tubing and skiing. I was paying close attention to the weather signs and sure enough everything was pointing to an upcoming storm. Because we were on the water, we could see a storm from pretty far off and even ones that were not headed our way. This one was headed toward us and I told Julie and the kids it was time to go. They balked and said that it would blow over or go around us and we should be fine. Despite my better judgment, we stayed on the water until the storm was on us. We went as fast as our boat would go to port. I had Jacob hold down the throttle while I tried to secure our bimini (the metal and tarp cover that blocks the sun), only to have the storm winds rip into it, breaking the aluminum poles that held it up. We got to the pier and everyone got into the truck while I secured the boat in the middle of a thunderstorm.

This time while we were at the beach, I saw a storm approaching (a common event), but it was approaching in a way that to me was threatening. I told the kids it was time to go and to pack up. They protested and went to Julie for support. She said, "Nope, I doubted your dad once when it comes to storms and I won't do it again. Remember when we were out on the boat?" And she told the story from our last trip. By the time we got in our van, the clouds had opened up with thunder and lightning accompanying it. We remained safe because we paid attention to what was going on around us.

I tell this story to open up the discussion about General Revelation. We are familiar with the Special or Specific Revelation of God through His Word, but we do not spend a great deal of time talking about the other ways God communicates to His creation. Like the storm that was giving signs that it was coming and those signs were important to pay attention to, so does God communicate His love, grace, and hope, and if we will pay attention, we can be witnesses to this.

This summer we will try and pay attention to the signs that God gives to reveal Himself and His truths. As Craig Detweiler did on our retreat, discussing television, music and film, we will look at medium that impacts us on a daily basis: literature, relationships, architecture and nature. We will search for signs that God is working and communicating His grace and love to the world.

 

This week we will look at stories, narrative, literature. Summer is a time for reading good books. What are you reading and what is it about what you are reading that made you choose the book and why did you finish it. What was it that drew you in and kept you engaged? What are your friends and coworkers reading? Do you wonder why certain books are popular and others are not? What did you come up with when you ask these questions?

Please comment on this blog site or shoot me an email and I will post it for you.

 

Also you are all invited to join me on a tour of City Lights Book Store in North Beach. We will meet this Saturday, July 19th at 11 am to browse, then grab some lunch and discuss what we saw. Also come Sunday night ready to discuss this during our worship service and afterwards for some dinner and discussion.

Saturday July 25^th from 10-2: Join Luke, Courtney and Burton from Inner Change's Outer Circle to discuss community and relationships. Please contact me if you plan on attending.

Saturday August 1^st. The Architecture of the City, TBA

Saturday August 8^th, Nature Hike TBA

 

Some things to read in the meantime if you want to go deeper regarding General Revelation are Into The Dark, Craig Detweiler; and Simply Christian, NT Wright. If you have suggestions please include them.

 

Peace

Edwin