28 February, 2017
Speaker: Rev Dr Andrew Sloane
Scripture: Ezekiel 1
Andrew remembers holidaying in Cronulla as a kid by the
beach. He sometimes watched the storm brewing up, and then a lightning bolt
would come crashing down. This is like the opening of the book of Ezekiel.
Storms tend to come from the North. They are beautiful but threatening visions.
Ezekiel’s terrifying vision drew him into the heart of the
storm. The living creatures had faces of human beings and other types of
creatures. They gleamed gloriously, flashed back and forth, like lightening. It
was puzzling and Ezekiel couldn’t make out what he saw. It got weirder and more
terrifying and harder to grasp.
Then he saw a strange wheel on the ground beside each
creature that sparkles, and goes in whatever directions the creatures are
turning. It was an “awesome” scene, meaning terrifying. There is rich symbolism
in the scene. The creatures got wings but they’re not flapping. The wheels are
the things that do the job, but they’re just spinning in the air. They’re not
mechanism but symbolism. There are a host of images that came flying at
Ezekiel, all speaking of a glorious freedom, terrifying and deeply puzzling.
All of that is just the carriage of the king. This chariot of fire is nothing
to the rider of the storm.
Above that was a throne. On the throne was the king. The
king was full of the radiance. And so Ezekiel fell face down when he saw this.
We’re given lots of details about the creatures, but given
nothing about the one who sits on the throne. God’s glory goes beyond our
imagining or speaking. One thing is clear in all of this vision is the voice, a
voice that goes on to call Ezekiel.
To get this, we have to unpack some of the symbolism. How
this image echoes all the images in the OT?
This is a Sinai-like theophany. Mount Sinai, where Israel’s
story as a nation began.
4 faces of the creatures: all the powers of the creation,
which were all under the sovereign rule of this God.
All of that supports the vision of the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of Yahweh. Ezekiel hasn’t seen Yahweh. He hasn’t even
seen the glory of Yahweh. What he sees is the appearance of the lines of the
glory of Yahweh. This is who God is: even in this vision entrusted to a
prophet, the most he can see is that. It is these verses that tell us “why”.
This vision addresses God’s glory in the covenant, and the seemingly failure of
the covenant. It was the 5th year of the exile of king Jehoiachin.
It was a crucial period in Israel’s story. When the nation ceased to exist,
that’s when the heavens opened. When the relationship seemed broken, and God’
covenantal purposes have come to nothing, and the nation is in exile with
people whose identity dissolves in this strange land. The exile is an act of
judgment, necessary in the face of the people’s covenantal failure.
This vision deconstructs the ark. People think they can
contain God, and that God were all that they were all about. This vision speaks
of the sovereign freedom of God. God’s glory is not somehow boxed up in there.
Ezekiel couldn’t become a priest because he’s in exile.
Instead, this glory of God is reflected and refracted in the life of Ezekiel.
The words on the scroll will consume him and shape him. This will be reflected
and refracted in the nation of Israel. There is judgement and hope. Here we
need to remember that all of this comes to Ezekiel and to all of those in
exile. We as Christian found ourselves as exiles of this world and it applies to us too.
We often think it’s power that reflects the glory of God, and control that we need to purport the purpose of God. It is the cross that the glory of God is fully manifest, in suffering and weakness. It’s not Jesus alone that shows it. Paul’s story also reflects this. This glory comes to be focused in the book of Revelation: The future and present rule of the lamb, the lamb who was slayed. Most of us don’t see storm visions of the chariot of fire, except here in Scriptures. There’s the opportunity for us to serve as faithful servants. It is this vision of glory that propels us into action. This is the vision that ought to shape our lives as it shaped the life of Ezekiel. This is the vision that God wants to reflect and refract. This is the vision that calls us into God’s world. Martin Luther King said before the night of his murder “my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord”.
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2012/01/16/martin-luther-king-jrs-prophetic-last-speech
We often think it’s power that reflects the glory of God, and control that we need to purport the purpose of God. It is the cross that the glory of God is fully manifest, in suffering and weakness. It’s not Jesus alone that shows it. Paul’s story also reflects this. This glory comes to be focused in the book of Revelation: The future and present rule of the lamb, the lamb who was slayed. Most of us don’t see storm visions of the chariot of fire, except here in Scriptures. There’s the opportunity for us to serve as faithful servants. It is this vision of glory that propels us into action. This is the vision that ought to shape our lives as it shaped the life of Ezekiel. This is the vision that God wants to reflect and refract. This is the vision that calls us into God’s world. Martin Luther King said before the night of his murder “my eyes have seen the glory of the Lord”.
http://www.riverfronttimes.com/newsblog/2012/01/16/martin-luther-king-jrs-prophetic-last-speech
Personal thoughts and
reflections: Big rain right when we walked out of the chapel!
7 March, 2017
Speaker: Rev Dr Marc Rader
Scripture: John 1
John began with “in the beginning”, similar to Genesis.
The beginning of a book usually introduces us to the main
characters and the tension that will drive the narrative.
In Ezekiel we meet God and Ezekiel. In John 1 we meet Jesus,
John the Baptist, religious leaders, Jesus’ disciples.
Both books refer to the glory of God.
In John, the tension is Jesus: he is what holds everything
together.
Ezekiel like a full on stage production, first person
singular, “I see”.
John is more mundane, a reflection on, not a report. First
person plural, “we have seen these things”.
Ezekiel: first group of exiles, pre-exilic. They have a
false hope that they will be exiled and come back and everything will be
alright, and Ezekiel pops that hope. “We have seen the likeness of the glory of
God”. Ezekiel was overwhelmed for 7 days after the vision.
John: Judaism under Roman rule. The temple was central to
their lives. The things that set Jews apart were circumcision and food laws.
They also have a false hope of a messiah that will rescue them politically. “We
have seen his glory”. The response is confusing in John: the religious teachers
were confused and go to John to ask who Jesus is, etc.
Both Ezekiel and John are trying to make sense of events.
Ezekiel is trying to make sense of what happened to them in becoming the
exiles. John is trying to make sense of the rejection of Jesus.
John describes a God who is no less glorious than the God in
Ezekiel. In John we saw the glory of a vulnerable God, a God who became flesh,
appearing in our midst and can still be missed. This vulnerable God calls us to
participate in this same vulnerability. Ezekiel is the reflection of the glory
of God: reflection through one prophet only. Whereas in John: we have seen his
glory. We are not reflecting the thrice removed reflection of God, but we are
reflecting the presence of God. We are to be face to face with Jesus. We have
seen this glory. Unlike an echo that diminishes over time (copy of a copy of a
copy), we are those who reflect the immediate glory of Christ. How do we
reflect the full glory of Christ in everything that we do? We are “first
generation reflectors”. This is significant, no matter where we are scattered.
God became flesh and dwelled upon us. And we have seen His glory. Ezekiel finds
its fulfilment in John 1, the person of Jesus.
Personal thoughts and
reflections: Today, the glory of God is reflected in a called community that is
to live out this glory in their lives.
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