Recovering our Sense of Parish, Part 2

"....we put out to sea and sailed straight to Kos.  The next day we went to Rhodes and from there to Patara. We found a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, went on board and set sail.  After sighting Cyprus and passing to the south of it, we sailed to Syria.  We landed at Tyre..."   Acts 21:1-4

When Elder Dave Bowen preached on this passage two weeks ago, he made the comment that such geographical details in the New Testament serve an important function. They point out that the Acts of God (including the Acts of the Apostles) have taken place on a real planet with real locations that still exist. In the maps above, we see that the cities of ancient Phoenicia that are mentioned in the scriptures, such as Tyre, still exist. The languages on the present day map of Lebanon give graphic testimony of the changes that have taken place in the ensuring two thousands years: Greek and Turkish control, Arabic conquest, and a brief French occupation between the world wars. Through it all, Tyre has remained Tyre, a real place on this globe, which was also real in the time of the apostles.

Back to Dave's comment... It is profound and necessary that we understand that the infinite God of all time and all space has chosen to interact with us who are temporally and spatially bound. God knows where we are (spatially) right now (temporally). That should be a great comfort to us, not only when we gather together to worship in our "tabernacle" on the Lord's Day, but throughout the week, as well.

Much Dove Mountain energy has been spent on wondering about a spatial point on Tangerine Road where we may at some temporal point have a "permanent" house of worship. That possibility has caused some to wonder about the relevance of geography and who should be a part of our body, or even targets for the same.

While geography is important, just as it was in Paul's time in the book of Acts, and just as it has been in historic Christendom through the life and work of localized parishes, it is even more important to live our fullest and best expression of Christian fellowship right now, while we still dwell in tents. For compared to the New Heaven and the New Earth, all of our "permanent" dwellings are tents.

Our recently departed sister Jan Wintz came to Dove Mountain during its time of greatest change, just a week after Pastor Allen had announced his departure. While many were leaving what they considered to be an "unstable" situation to go back to a particular church they feel to be "more permanent," sister Jan moved in exactly the opposite direction. Knowing she was near the end of her earthly life, she said, "I don't wat to die without the support of a church." She felt comforted that she had found such a place among us.

Tomorrow: Part 3.