Rivendell Fellowship

Hey, I love the idea of posting what we’re going to read and talk about on Sundays. I’ve tried a couple times to post things about our gatherings and some of my thoughts. Of course, sometimes, these posts are on my original blog and sometimes they end up in other places accidentally. Oh well.

Sunday, we’re in the second week of Advent and we’re looking at a text from Luke 3.

What grabs your attention in this selection? What images stand out? What word choices in the various translations seem interesting? Comments? Questions?

“The first commentary on the death of Jesus was the suicide of Judas. If the cross were the last word in God’s self-revelation then this first commentary would be the only possible one. If all humankind- even in its best representatives- is exposed here as one murderous treason against its Creator, what future is there but death? What is the point of continuing this futile saga of sin, even with all the adornments of civilization? If the cross is the end, then there is no future.

But it is not. The resurrection is the revelation to chosen witnesses of the fact that Jesus who died on the cross is indeed king- conqueror of death and sin, Lord and Savior of all. The resurrection is not the reversal of a defeat but the proclamation of a victory. The King reigns from the tree. The reign of God has indeed come upon us, and its sign is not a golden throne but a wooden cross.”

– Lesslie Newbigin, Foolishness to the Greeks, pg. 127

Sally Morgenthaler is here in Tulsa. Sally is an influential author and thinker and she’s leading a workshop at Phillps Theological Seminary September 12-13. [Here’s a post about the event] She’s also going to be at McNellie’s pub downtown tonight (Tuesday, September 12th) at 8:00 conversing with the Tulsa Emergent Cohort. You are invited. Come down, have a brew and enjoy the discussion.

And hey, remember to bring a photo of a friend with you to Rivendell Sunday morning. Grab a picture of someone who was a friend to you in an important time in your life; someone who helped, challenged, cared, nurtured, understood, played alongside or who somehow bore the face of God to you.

We are starting Lectio Divina at Purple Glaze this Sunday night @ 7pm. We will have translations of the text available on paper and in book form, but if you would still like to bring your own bible, please bring either the Message or the NIV.

 Also, look forward to new posts from myself (Daniel), and hopefully other contributors as well. If you would like to become a contributor to this blog, email me at dlsharples@gmail.com

July 17th, Monday night at 7pm

Volleyball, all are invited. We’ll be playing @ 71st and Riverside

 Hope to see you there…

PASS THE WORD ALONG!!

You are invited to a cookout at my place tonight at
7:00. I have some people covering meat, buns, and
other things. It would be great if guys could bring
drinks and girls chips. If you can come, but can’t
bring anything-come anyway. Would love to see you
here. KIDS ARE WELCOME!!
Thanks,
Laura L 🙂
*My address is 8830 East 46th Place
Tulsa, OK 74145 (between mingo and memorial off 51st)

 I wrote this a couple years ago.  It was an article for a church I was working with at the time.  I thought I’d share it here and see what kind of conversation it might start.

 Some thoughts on Community:
Loneliness is the curse of our world… or rather aloneness. We all deal with loneliness, even the most social of us. Have you noticed that that feeling of loneliness does not care how many names you know. The feeling of being alone can follow you into the most crowed room even with the people to whom we are supposed to be the closest? Today, loneliness is rampant in our families, friendships and in our churches. Isolation is the gift from culture that we never wanted to receive.
We are told by our churches that we are not alone, that God is near, that he is our friend. This is very true, and perhaps this truth should liberate us from our aloneness, but honestly it comes across as a pat churchy answer and is somewhat patronizing. Is it possible to fully believe God is with us and still feel alone? (I hope so, because to often this is where I live)

In Genesis we see God creating a community in the environment.  The Eco-System is a community of plants and animals functioning interdependently.  In Genesis we see other kinds of community. God declared his creation to be “Good” every step of the way until he got to a homosapian male.   The first person ever created was alone and God said it was “not good”.  In my opinion, this is not a verse primarily about marriage, but about the essence of what it means to be human. It is not good for man or woman to be alone.  You and I were created to be in relationships with each other. That community is what we long for. Oh, to belong to a community beyond ourselves on this difficult journey of life where unity, diversity, love, intimacy, equality, submission, trust, respect and communication are plentiful.

We live in a nation full of fiercely independent individuals who are groomed in a culture that teaches us to be renaissance men and women, able to take on life alone. We’ve made Jesus our “personal” Lord and Savior, a term not found in scripture. We have turned the story of God saving all his people (and the other communities included in creation. (Rom. 8) into God saving you and me. Our individualism runs deep. We don’t understand community and we can not outside of dusting off our understanding of God as Trinity, who exists in community with himself. (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) Community is inherent in the very character and nature of God. To know God fully, we must do life together in community.
The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. We need each other. Did you hear that? Need. It is risky though. It means you let down your guard. It means you are vulnerable… real. Real with your aloneness… real with your shortfalls… real with your thoughts… real with your stories. It means loving others without judgment or condemnation. It means intentionally connecting with other people following Jesus and telling them where you are, what you need and what you dream about becoming. Will you do it? Start with one close friend or family member.