Trinity
This week we were spending three days trying to get our head around the Trinity (the idea that God is one, yet there is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). This causes so much confusion as we're really struggling with trying to understand the complexity of God with our tiny minds. To me I loved the ancient approach to this issue: God is love and so necessarily God is a community of love. But maybe it's because I'm a mathematician that 1 + 1 + 1 = 1 (mod 3) works for me!!
Arty stuff
Panicking with the essay deadline on Thursday, coupled with a presentation to the class and one to the Tumbling Bay residents as well as being on community lunch meant that when I was greeted with the news that there would be three afternoon sessions to "explore the trinity through the creative medium" I guess I freaked out a bit. Okay a lot. It didn't help that the first session was terrible. I missed the second due to attending Lizzie's nativity presentation and....I skipped the third session which was a visit to an art gallery. I knew I wasn't right no matter how I justified it - so had to apologise during chapel on Thursday and receive forgiveness from Gaynor. Although it was hard, I'm glad I did it as I had essentially been setting myself up above Gaynor and the change in my heart was horrible. It's good to get things cleared.
Essay
You might recall that this essay was on the nature and character of God and I chose to look at joy. Is God happy? Did Jesus laugh?
I was really glad I did this topic as it is something I find a bit weird - I get the fact that God forgives us and accepts us back when we repent - but the bit in the prodigal son where he then throws a lavish party is a bit bizarre - I expect him to send me out to work in the fields next! The short answer is that he is happy as he is the only sovereign (so no-one can thwart him), he has great joy in his son and creation flows out of that joy - and brings him joy as it declares his glory (that's why the universe is so big!), he has joy in choosing a people to make a name for himself and rejoices in doing them good and working everything for their good! He also wants to give us the kingdom of joy and make our joy complete and enter into the Father's joy. Wow! (PS Those who want copies of my essays are most welcome to them just drop me a comment by clicking the "comment" directly below this blog)
Finished this essay at only 2.30am - so clearly getting better at this essay lark!!!
Joy presentation
Part of this assignment was to give a presentation to the class on our chosen aspect of God's character. There were some amazing and moving presentations. One that particularly stuck out was the dance representing the life journey of two students and God's graciousness (so from the foetus in the womb to a child following God to a teenager rebelling to being wooed back by God's love into His eternal embrace - particularly evocative was the way they simulated being entwined in His heartbeat - and this is from a guy who really isn't into this kind of dance thing - but seriously wow!).
For me I wanted to somehow convey the utter lavishness and outrageousness of God's joy over the repentant Son. So I had one of my fellow students, Simon, carry round a clay model of a sunflower that had taken me two weeks to make representing God's joy. However, he dropped it halfway round and broke it. I was gutted - it had taken two weeks - as I'm really not at all crafty - and it was smashed and ruined. I was upset and went to leave the room mid-presentation. Simon apologised and I forgave him, embraced him and then shouted let's have a party and began throwing out party poppers, balloons, bags of sweets and then taking round slices of cake. I guess by now you realised, as they did at this point, that the whole thing was a set-up (for the record I am rubbish at craft - so my wife made it for me) - but it was fantastic seeing the shock on their faces and the sharp intake of breath when it was dropped and then seeing them grab the shocking nature of the prodigal (wastefully or recklessly extravagant) love of the Father. He is an amazing God - I am so glad that He doesn't love like we do.
Tumbling Bay
We wanted to give the old people a christmas presentation that would make them think more about Christmas - as it's all too easy to just gloss over the Christmas story as it's been heard before.
So we started with how Jesus was around in the beginning with God before he "became flesh", then God's plan for restoring fellowship with mankind after we messed it up then the plan being revealed through many prophets (at least 400 years BC) about the coming Messiah then the story itself.
Also chose some songs that had good lyrics to help reflect on the birth.
On Christmas Day
This is a new Christmas worship song by Matt Osgood available for free download with lyrics and score from resoundworship - I love the words in this - the juxtoposition of all-poweful God in a helpless baby - beautiful - enjoy:
Mary did you know
Here's a classic song about the birth of Yeshua the Messiah with video from youtube:
Car
Well with our next child on the way it was clear that our current car just wouldn't fit them in! I tried to persuade Jen that one of us could travel on the moped with the other in the car with the four children but she wasn't having any of it.
Picture below shows our children enjoying the new (to us!) MPV courtesy of Jen's parents life saving policy thing (however don't save with Prudential...unless you enjoy terrible customer service and long delays...
). Oh yes - and Jen trying to work out how it all works - far too posh
for us! We gave Kenna's our old car which he is delighted with...until
his family has stolen it off him!!
Christmas banquet
Term finished with the Christmas banquet - an occasion to dress up and eat fantastic food that was cooked and served to us by the staff (I love this aspect of college - that they see themselves as equals before God - and this is one way that they show this practically). It was fab.
During and after the meal were entertainment provided by us students. The best for me was "blind heresy date" - one student whose theology was feeling flat was looking for something to spice things up - it was hilarious seeing the responses of the contestants to the Trinity and the end times and how they imagined their denomination would look if they got together...
Well catch you next week - will be back on time now the holidays are over...hope you all had a lovely Christmas!
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