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We started right on time! The nor'easter kept Mason away, but he gave us all lines in his selection of praises and prayers from Psalm 36 (which may have become my favorite, thanks to this!), St. Francis, and our traveling companion Bishop Deon Johnson for the closing.
A lot of energy was generated by Mason's collage of photos of bridges and the simple question, "Which one are you drawn to?" Some of us had strong emotional connections with the actual bridges, with memories to share. We noted how a generic bridge can be a strong metaphor, and how details of a specific bridge can suggest deeper meanings.
Speaking of the power of images, Scott took a moment to recommend a video from the Resources tab about the value of "ugly pictures." Even crudely drawn representations of ideas and stories will bring fresh insights to mind and keep creative discussion alive. Remember this when you get to the "respond" questions below!
Following Jesus, 1st yr: Rob, Tiffany; 2nd yr: Michael, Mason; 3rd yr: Lanie 4th yr, Joyce, Susan; 5th yr "Wide Angle," Phyllis. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Mason.
Most of the discussion took place in breakout rooms. When we came back together, these were some of the topics that had captured our attention:
- The 5th year book on Learning to Love the Bible Again lists various adjectives applied to the Bible in public forums these past few years: "subversive," "deep," "irrelevant," "historical," "puzzling." Phyllis was intrigued by the wide range of interpretations of the phrase "the word of God." Is the God of the Old Testament different from the God of the New Testament? (Scott would ask how God's people changed over the 1000+ years before Jesus.)
- One breakout room discussed how some of Scripture is literal and some is poetic.
- Why is time so often specified in both testaments? 40 days, 7 days, 3 days... not to mention time set aside for sabbath and for feasts and fasts. Are we any different? Is literature from other cultures equally focused on time?
- We were surprised that Jesus and the Pharisees, who appear in the Gospels as arch-enemies, were on the same side when it came to doctrine such as belief in afterlife.
- Part of our discussion was about drawing parallels between some stories from Genesis and from our own family histories.
"Tell us of a stepping stone in your journey of faith, a time when you were challenged by Jesus."
Tiffany and Joyce will be leading Worship and the GQ.
Scott has chosen these two "Respond" questions for week 4:
- If you were drawing a cartoon strip of your reading, listening, or watching this week, what would be the essential four boxes? Use stick figures and dialogue if that is helpful. We will go into breakout rooms to share and prepare something to show the plenum.
- How might themes of authorship and authenticity influence what you believe is biblical truth? How do questions of authorship and authenticity relate to your life in today’s world?
Our next "stepping stone" in the Journey with Jesus is to tell about a companion who affected your journey.
