jn_en_2017_06_22
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- | Thursday, June 22, 2017. | + | |
+ | Thursday, June 22, 2017. The bible is full of fantastic images. They appear on different | ||
+ | levels: there is the strength of the historical events themselves. They are fact, but at the same | ||
+ | time given to us as templates of faith to relate ourselves to what happened long ago. There are | ||
+ | the parables and images which Jesus uses when he preaches. And there are the images which | ||
+ | we find in the letters of the New Testament and in the Revelation, the last book of the bible, | ||
+ | with far reaching prophetic words. | ||
{{2017_06_22.jpg }} | {{2017_06_22.jpg }} | ||
- | ** ...** | + | **Do you like them? ...** |
+ | Do you like biblical images? Perhaps they are difficult to understand? Do you feel frightened by | ||
+ | these images? Or do you like them, do they talk to you? All humans have an emotional level, a level | ||
+ | of conscieous and unconscious feelings and processes, and we have a conscious level of reason. All | ||
+ | of these levels of our existence play a role when we read biblical texts, and all of them are | ||
+ | addressed by the biblical images. Have a look into the first chapter of the Revelation, for example: | ||
+ | <color #aa0000> | ||
+ | 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, | ||
+ | {{ 2017_06_22_2.jpg}} | ||
- | 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, | + | **I love it! ...** |
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- | {{ 2017_06_22_2.jpg}} | + | |
- | ** ...** | + | I have to say that I love the biblical images. The more I read in the biblical books, the more I study them, |
+ | the more I love the images. Jesus is called the lamb of God - it is one of such images. And it communicates | ||
+ | so many things, his whole passion, his character, his role, the salvation he brings. In the above text, | ||
+ | the vision describes "one like a son of men". This phrase "son of men" reaches back thousand years into | ||
+ | the Jewish scriptures, the prophets of the Old Testament. It is an image and message at the same time. | ||
- | + | Why would the eternal God want to be with humans? To some of our contemporaries the whole biblical tradition | |
+ | is far to human-centric. It seems to be made from humans for humans. This goes deep into the prophetic | ||
+ | images - such as the above passages from the Revelation. But if God, as it is claimed, created men as man | ||
+ | and woman, if God wanted to relate to creation, if he wanted to live in community with mankind from the | ||
+ | very beginning, why should he not talk to us on a level we can understand? He does! | ||
+ | The christmas story is the reunification of God with mankind through Christ Jesus. "God became man!" That | ||
+ | is the core message. And: Christ died for us. And: Your faith has saved you. And: do not be afraid! Here, | ||
+ | we find the role of Christ described in fantastic images ... take these images, take them serious, and | ||
+ | they will start to talk to you, on many layers and levels of your life! Try it ... | ||
(Roland Potthast) | (Roland Potthast) | ||
[[http:// | [[http:// | ||
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jn_en_2017_06_22.1498110220.txt.gz · Last modified: 2017/06/22 07:43 by potthast