{"id":7248,"date":"2019-04-23T07:25:25","date_gmt":"2019-04-23T12:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=7248"},"modified":"2019-04-17T12:05:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:05:06","slug":"april-28-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/april-28-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"April 28, 2018–Hope in the Ruins"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jocelyn Breeland, Sunnyvale, CA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Warm-up Question<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is essential to sustain your faith?<\/p>\n

Hope in the Ruins<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As these words are written, the fire in Notre Dame, the historic cathedral in the heart of Paris, has finally been brought under control. Memorable scenes of the day include the silhouette of the church against the towering flames, the tall spire collapsing, and mourners praying as they watched in horror. French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to launch a national fundraising campaign so the church can be rebuilt. By the time you read this, we will likely know more about the cause of the fire, the extent of the damage, and what will be required to restore Notre Dame.<\/p>\n

Notre Dame, one of the world\u2019s most well-known churches, was completed in 1345 and over the centuries has played an important role in the life of the city and the history of France and Europe. The exterior of Notre Dame contains many scenes from the Bible, a sort of book to teach scripture to the parishioners who, at the time of construction, were mostly illiterate. The interior contains many priceless works of art, a magnificent organ, and the treasured relics of what is believed to be the crown of thorns Jesus wore before crucifixion and a piece of the cross. They were rescued from the flames.<\/p>\n

This is not the first time the building was damaged. In 1548, Hugenots damaged statues that they believed to be idolatrous. In 1793, 28 statues of biblical kings were destroyed when they were mistaken for statues of French kings. A bombing attempt was foiled in 2016.<\/p>\n

Within 24 hours, hundreds of millions of dollars had been pledged to the rebuilding effort.<\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n