The Phoenix as Symbol and Icon
I wrote this back on October 30 of 2002. I put it back on my personal blog back then. And I thought I would just give a little picture of where the name came from.
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The phoenix was a bird from ancient Egyptian mythology that flew so close to the sun that it was consumed by fire and fell to the ground, only to rise later, to fly again, reborn out of the ashes.
The phoenix symbolizes us on our journey with God. As time has gone on, we have flown so close to the flames of this world that we have been consumed by it so much that we have lost our ability to fly. Now as followers of Jesus, we lay in the ashes, broken, beaten, and barely breathing. A far cry from our ultimate purpose that we were created for. So now its time for us to rise up again. Time to be renewed again with a passion for our Creator and for our world. A time to be intimate with our maker and relevant in our context.
It is time for the church to rise out of the ashes and become a thriving social and spiritual capital once again. It is time for the church to quit flying so close to the flames of politics, religion, and tradition. Its time to fly again. Renewed. Reformed. Revived. Risen. Refreshed. Reprogrammed. Its time for the church to be church.
_________________________________________________________
The phoenix was a bird from ancient Egyptian mythology that flew so close to the sun that it was consumed by fire and fell to the ground, only to rise later, to fly again, reborn out of the ashes.
The phoenix symbolizes us on our journey with God. As time has gone on, we have flown so close to the flames of this world that we have been consumed by it so much that we have lost our ability to fly. Now as followers of Jesus, we lay in the ashes, broken, beaten, and barely breathing. A far cry from our ultimate purpose that we were created for. So now its time for us to rise up again. Time to be renewed again with a passion for our Creator and for our world. A time to be intimate with our maker and relevant in our context.
It is time for the church to rise out of the ashes and become a thriving social and spiritual capital once again. It is time for the church to quit flying so close to the flames of politics, religion, and tradition. Its time to fly again. Renewed. Reformed. Revived. Risen. Refreshed. Reprogrammed. Its time for the church to be church.
posted by Josh at 7:57 AM
4 Comments:
woah...rob bell...finding something new with thw words are we...your so smart nick
great thoughts.
as we get closer "to the face of Jesus" (to quote don miller) we begin to "unspiral" in a sense from what we know about ourselves, God, and the world. not in a hopeless, relative, I'll never know God. but in throwing ourselves "up" and "in" to God, we lose the stuff that so often keeps us in separation, i.e. sin.
so that we can relearn, reprogram, refuel. all of those rewords that are only possible after we do some "de" words.
From St Clement of Rome.
Chap. XXV. - THE PHOENIX AN EMBLEM OF OUR RESURRECTION.
Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years. And when time of its dissolution draws near that it must die, it builds itself a nest of frankincense, and myrrh, and other spices, into which, when the time is fulfilled, it enters and dies. But as the flesh decays a certain kind of worm is produced, which, being nourished by the juices of the dead bird, brings forth feathers. Then, when it has acquired strength, it takes up that nest in which are the bones of its parent, and bearing these it passes from the land of Arabia into Egypt, to the city called Heliopolis. And, in open day, flying in the sight of all men, it places them on the altar of the sun, and having done this, hastens back to its former abode. The priests then inspect the registers of the dates, and find that it has returned exactly as the five hundredth year was completed. (The Ante Nicene Fathers, vol. I, p12)
and it's time to figure out what exactly that looks like.
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