Sorry, Simeon!

-=< O >=-

I’ve been
wrestling with
some thoughts ever
since I read the book
Bearing God’s Name
by
Carmen Joy Imes
.

I gave a speech about it
at Open Prairie UCC

but that’s not what
I’m writing about today

-=< O >=-

I want to show
a design I made in
Stained Glass
.

-=< O >=-

While lying in bed after surgery,
I started thinking about the concept
of bearing Christ, and all of the examples
in scripture where someone bore him
personally, or bore Him later in his
spiritual form, the Holy Spirit
.

I wondered if I could
make a visual design
incorporating all of
those instances
.

Maybe that sounds strange,
but my recovery was long and
drugs were involved, ha
!!!

This is
Bearing Christ
:

-=< O >=-

Can you identify the elements
represented in the design
???

Mary bore Him
through pregnancy

A Donkey bore Him
into Jerusalem

The Cross bore Him
through crucifixion

Joseph of Arimathia
bore Him into the tomb

The Priests bear Him
through the Host at
Communion

Our Hearts
Bear Him
:

-=< O >=-

In these forms
of Bearing Christ, I
think the last one is
most significant
:

We Bear Him
In Our Hearts

-=< O >=-

I believe that
the grand summary
of the Bible is that God
was hoping for a way
to be with us
.

Our time together in
the Garden of Eden
didn’t last long
.
Then He made a way for
us to live in community
through a Tabernacle
.
Then through the
Temple system
.
Finally,
a grand solution
offered to all, cleansing
us enough for the
spirit to reside
within
.

Don’t you know
that you yourselves
are God’s temple and
that God’s Spirit dwells
in your midst?
1 Corinthians 3:16

I think that’s
the only way God
is working in the
world today;
through
us
.

God’s Kingdom on Earth

-=< O >=-

…
but there
is something
missing from
the design
…

Simeon

Simeon held
the baby Jesus!
.

Moved by the Spirit, he
went into the temple courts.
When the parents brought in the
child Jesus to do for him what the
custom of the Law required, Simeon
took him in his arms and praised God,
saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have
promised, you may now dismiss
your servant in peace. For my
eyes have seen your
salvation
…
Luke 2:27-30

-=< O >=-

So,
even though
the image is flawed
and I’m not sure how
successful the design
is, it still gave me
a chance to
tell the
story
.

Sincere
apologies
to Simeon for
leaving him
out !!!

-=< O >=-