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January is a time of recent beginnings, hopeful resolutions and a time for brand spanking new alternatives to discover brilliant concepts. Within the theological world it’s a season referred to as “epiphany.”
That is the season the place we see what’s revealed and woke up as we glance to the story of the three clever sages within the Christmas Story. Following a superb star, they arrive bearing symbolic items to the brand new born baby, Jesus. Epiphany celebrates this new season of “aha” and consciousness. It’s a mythic name to knowledge.
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At Hillhurst United this month, we’re exploring brilliant concepts by welcoming clever guests from the west (from Vancouver College of Theology) to share their ardour and perception. For 4 Saturday mornings, from 9 a.m. to midday, and the next Sunday mornings in worship, the professors lead in a sequence referred to as Epiphany Explorations. Over 500 people have joined within the dialog.
We started with New Testomony scholar Dr. Harry Maier, who kicked off the sequence inviting listeners into the subversive nature of parables as a strategy to awaken the unconventional knowledge concerning the kingdom of God. Likening it to a weed that’s tenacious and plentiful, he advised parables have been typically unlikely surprises quite than one ethical level or riddle.
“It’s extra about an expansive, beneficiant, even humorous view of God’s grace overturning peoples private piety,” he suggests. “It’s like going grocery purchasing in Calgary and ending up in Saskatoon, saying, ‘How did I get right here?” It’s about sudden surprises quite than pedantic moralism.
Secondly, we welcomed Dr. Ross Lockhart, director of missiology, who shared his analysis on Christianity in Vancouver — essentially the most secular postal code in Canada. Paralleling the analysis with Calgary, he advised the decision of the “cathedral of nature” is difficult the will of native church for folks to attend on Sundays.
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This inevitable name requires folks to seek out new methods and instances to satisfy and requires a necessity to beat the hesitancy to share the excellent news of the Christian religion.
He likened it to our connection to democracy: “Most individuals, if requested, ‘Do you imagine in democracy?’ would reply sure, 9 out of 10 in favour. If requested, ‘Did you vote?’ it might be extra like 6 out of 10 would say ‘sure.’ Lastly, if requested, ‘Are you a member of a political social gathering?’ Possibly 2 out of 10!” would reply sure.
This parallels the identical method folks view faith. There’s an total openness to it, however a scarcity of dedication to point out up. “We have to assist folks have interaction, commit and share excellent news to assist remodel the world,” Lockhart says.
The symposium additionally welcomed Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, who teaches Hebrew research, to replicate on her ebook: From the Mouth of Donkey, Re-imagining Biblical Animals.
The ebook appears to be like on the position of animals within the Bible to be the mouthpiece of God, with animals reflecting moral themes, allegorical meanings and allusions to God’s nature.
The epiphany sequence concludes this weekend with Dr. Mari Joerstad, professor of Previous Testomony, who will discover the position of anger within the Hebrew scriptures as a strategy to inspire change. As a typical sense teacher, she sees the Hebrew scriptures as a set of tales of how we’re referred to as to look after the earth asking the query: “What if we handled all of creation —crops and stars, soil and rivers — as our kin? . . . Understanding biblical texts shouldn’t be merely an mental train, however an train in how you can reside.”
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Our consideration to local weather justice makes it our collective calling. It’s a name for trustworthy people to familiarize themselves and to root themselves within the scriptures in search of knowledge on the journey.
Epiphany is about exploring an awakening, about new concepts and interesting in world transformation. It’s about new methods of considering and being. That is our hope and invitation to folks — in particular person and on-line — who could want to entertain a brand new strategy to begin the yr grounded in good theology, the place the bible and newspaper are companions in a related theology.
Rev Dr. John Pentland is lead pastor at Hillhurst United Church. Go to the church’s web site, hillhurstunited.com for particulars on Epiphany Exploration.
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