Heaven, Exodus, and Ordination

I finished Simply Christian yesterday... before the book club. This represents a small miracle. I actually had a wonderful opportunity to sit in a manicured courtyard at University of San Diego and read for over an hour. It was cool. The birds were singing. The breeze was blowing. And I could smell the low tide. I sat at a table with a virgin Mary statue reading over my shoulder while I went through the second section of this meaningful work by an Anglican Priest. This is about as multi-cultural as I get. I'm kidding. NT Wright is wonderfully balanced, gracious, and on views of biblical history, seems fairly conservative. I enjoyed his book and the discussion at the book club immensely.

N T Wright communicates this re occurring theme through out his book. There are circumstances where heaven and earth intersect. With out getting too far out there (some of our book club discussion was on witching hours, Constantine, and Celtic thin spaces), I think this is a beautiful and accurate picture of kingdom living. While we wait for the second coming, be it a "left behind" type rapture or a more ahmillennial "new heaven and new earth", may we live our lives in such a way that heaven can intersect with earth. May HIS will be done on earth as it is in heaven, even here and now.

Another reoccurring theme is the scriptural idea of exodus and return. This was an encouragement to me. Even when we seem like we are lost in the desert, God's plan is still the promised land. This was something I needed to here.

So much of our discussion at book club was not related at all to the book. As we were all cleaning up I find out Rev Rock, well he's not really a Rev. In fact, he's kinda opposed to ordination. I spent all morning trying to find the biblical example with certificates and clergy cards and inscribing REV on your Bible. Those specifics aren't there! My own ordination service was a wonderful time of confirming what God had already spoken in my life, alot like the laying on of hands we see in Acts. Licensing was done behind closed doors but my ordination was out in the open alot like baptism is a public confession of faith. Kevin suggested that licensing you can get out of, but ordination is for a lime time. I know this is irrelevant to most of you, but it's got me all stirred up. I'll post more later. Your thoughts?