{"id":2154,"date":"2014-09-04T18:52:01","date_gmt":"2014-09-04T18:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=2154"},"modified":"2014-09-04T18:57:43","modified_gmt":"2014-09-04T18:57:43","slug":"%cb%88win-%cb%8cdo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/%cb%88win-%cb%8cdo\/","title":{"rendered":"\\\u02c8win-(\u02cc)d\u014d\\"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\"windows\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

From Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary:<\/p>\n

1<\/strong>\u00a0an opening especially in the wall of a building for admission of light and air that is usually closed by casements or sashes containing transparent material (as glass) and capable of being opened and shut.<\/p>\n

2<\/strong> a means of entrance or access; a means of obtaining information.<\/p>\n

\n

Adding a window to a wall or to a room is an invitation for change. What once was predictable and static suddenly brings differences of light and shadows, sounds and smells. New perspectives from beyond the room are introduced into the imagination of those inside the room. For each person, depending on the angle from which they sit, their perspective and subsequent imagination can be different. Though starting from the same room, looking through the same window, the impressions of each person can be different. Windows allow us to move beyond our physical location while never leaving the room. Windows can also bring refreshing change from the outside into our current situation. William Dyrness in his book, Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue, <\/em>brings needed depth and theological sophistication to the capacity of images to provide windows for the development of our faith in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cVenerating the image was not a veneration of the object but the person who was visible in and through the image. The image did not simply represent the one portrayed but actually became transparent; that is, one could see through the image to the sacred presence it represented.\u201d (Loc. 615-617)<\/p>\n

The difference between icon and idol, iconodule and iconoclast, veneration and worship, can at times be a fine line that is not easily distinguished because often the differences reside within the hard to discern places of the emotional and devotional heart of the individual. A number of years ago, I had the occasion of watching the Holy Week parades in Seville, Spain. What I saw during those days has always stayed with me. The procession of people moving through the streets, carrying statues, crosses and other artifacts were one thing; but it was the throngs of people, pressing close from the sides and leaning over their balconies that remains with me. It seemed clear to me, that the majority of those on the streets that day were idol worshippers. They looked to the artistic representation as possessing power that it could not possess. Despite their shouting and crying to these adorned shapes of wood and stone, the idols remained unchanged, unemotional and unmoved.<\/p>\n

The Old Testament book of Isaiah brings life to what I witnessed in those days, when it says \u201c\u2026he makes an idol and bows down to it. Half of the wood he burns in the fire; over it he prepares his meal, he roasts his meat and eats his fill\u2026From the rest makes an idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and sys, \u2018Save me, you are my god.\u2019 \u201d (Isaiah 44:15-17) \u00a0Despite that experience and my own limited artistic capacity, the Lord has also taught me that there is something very significant and powerful about looking, not at but through, objects and images, art and nature to see His character and beauty revealed. They become windows through which our present reality is influenced by God\u2019s divine presence.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“<\/em>Apparently, there is nothing God does that does not send off sparks of beauty that call attention to his redeeming and loving presence. The world, then, even apart from its interpretation in Scripture, declares the glory of God; it is an embodied witness to this redemption and love.” (Loc. 1454-1456)<\/p>\n

\"Stained<\/a>

Stained glass from “La Cathedrale Notre Dame” in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.<\/p><\/div>\n

The biggest challenge, for me, is to continually recognize that God\u2019s desire to communicate with me is vast and varied. Often the limitation for learning comes through my own preconceptions which draws a shade or even boards up the window through which He is trying to teach me. Related to this challenge, is my role as a communicator of God\u2019s truth. It is na\u00efve, even egotistical, to think that the words I share each week, whether in large group gatherings or in smaller settings, is enough to challenge or shape the thinking of others. Therefore, often when speaking, I will have a picture (or series of pictures) displayed behind me, or an object in my hand through which people can engage what they\u2019re hearing. The image or object becomes a window. In much the same way a great orator uses the telling of a story to illustrate a main point, these objects and images too are like windows enhancing and revealing a point of truth, directing people\u2019s attention toward God. Refreshingly, the feedback from this is that people are being taught through the images; they find their minds are stimulated in a different way than just listening or taking notes (I can get tired of listening to me, I\u2019m sure they do too \ud83d\ude42 ).<\/p>\n

My own relationship with the Lord has developed to a place where I now look with anticipation for the new windows that are being installed in the otherwise predictable and static places of my life. Through those windows God shines light and reveals beauty that I would otherwise never see. \u00a0Additionally, I am also learning to value the insights of others, who though sitting in the same room, gazing out the same window, are able to enhance our shared experience and understanding of our God through the uniqueness of their perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

(It should also be noted that this topic so capture my attention that I wrote my Master’s Thesis<\/a> on it. If you have trouble sleeping you might find this helpful.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0 From Miriam-Webster’s Dictionary: 1\u00a0an opening especially in the wall of a building for admission of light and air that is usually closed by casements or sashes containing transparent material (as glass) and capable of being opened and shut. 2 a means of entrance or access; a means of obtaining information. Adding a window to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[289],"class_list":["post-2154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dyrness","cohort-lgp4"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2154"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2178,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2154\/revisions\/2178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}