| |
Many
people refer to a 'church' as if it just means a building. But this was
not the case in the New Testament. There references to 'Temple' are as
likely to refer to the human body / self as to a physical structure or
an institution (see e.g. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 6:19-20). The Church
is not just the building, but the people that form the community using
that building - in fact, the whole Christian community.
The concept of 'landscape' can also be interiorized or made into an allegory.
Pupils could reflect on and envisage their own interior landscape. How
could inner emotions, e.g. of jealousy, love, anxiety, generosity, guilt,
be translated into an inner landscape? Swamps, dark forests, mountains,
lakes, pastureland, rivers, caves, inner city ring roads
?
Read Isaiah 11 for a biblical idea of how the literal landscape will change
with the coming of the Messiah. Can this vision be translated in inner,
personal terms? Alternatively, the 18th century hymn-writer Isaac Watts
wrote There is a Land of Pure Delight, which envisages a landscape transformed
by faith in Jesus. Versions and tunes can be found at:
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/t/t136.html
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/t/h/e/thereisa.htm
Although the words clearly belong to another age and culture, pupils could
write their own version of this hymn, keeping only the first line, but
reconfiguring the landscape to fit their own vision.
|